🚨 Beyond the limit 🚨
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Reflect Orbital aims to launch 50,000 mirror-like satellites to provide sunlight at night, with reflected beams spanning at least 5 km on Earth's surface.
This image illustrates how scattered sunlight would increase the overall brightness of the sky above the VLT, even if the mirrors aren’t aiming directly at the observatory.
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ESO/O. Hainaut@esoastronomy In the alt text, it says the simulated image shows the night sky at 3-4x brighter. Is that a worldwide estimate with 50,000 mirrors, or is it localized to the VLT area? The effects to astronomy will be tremendous, but how will this also affect wildlife across the planet?
Cc: @sundogplanets
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Beyond the limit New ESO study finds that current proposals to launch 1.7+ million satellites into orbit would have devastating consequences for astronomy.
The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital
1/4
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment #pollution
@esoastronomy it is now time to bang on the table.
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Beyond the limit
New ESO study finds that current proposals to launch 1.7+ million satellites into orbit would have devastating consequences for astronomy.
The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital
1/4
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment #pollution
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@esoastronomy
Are they still thinking about this dumb idea of space based data centers ?@YannC @esoastronomy For as long as their investment cash keeps coming in.
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SpaceX plans to launch 1 million satellites for space-based data centres.
This diagram shows the satellites that would be visible above our VLT:
invisible satellites in Earth’s shadow
🟠2000 satellites brighter than magnitude 7
200 satellites brighter than magnitude 52/4
ESO/O. Hainautif you want to stop or diminish this, instead of complaining, you need a plan to deliver the benefits without the harm
IMO
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@esoastronomy we're fucked
@scottytrees @esoastronomy
"The sinister, the terrible never deceive: the state in which they leave us is always one of enlightenment. And only this condition of vicious insight allows us a full grasp of the world, all things considered, just as a frigid melancholy grants us full possession of ourselves. We may hide from horror only in the heart of horror."
- Thomas Ligotti
#doomed -
Reflect Orbital aims to launch 50,000 mirror-like satellites to provide sunlight at night, with reflected beams spanning at least 5 km on Earth's surface.
This image illustrates how scattered sunlight would increase the overall brightness of the sky above the VLT, even if the mirrors aren’t aiming directly at the observatory.
3/4
ESO/O. Hainaut@esoastronomy why on Earth would we want sunlight at night?
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Beyond the limit
New ESO study finds that current proposals to launch 1.7+ million satellites into orbit would have devastating consequences for astronomy.
The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital
1/4
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment #pollution
Elon Musk is a fossil fuel shill.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/05/13/trump-tech-execs-riyadh/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/business/xai-humain-saudi-musk-spacex.html
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/musk-putin-secret-conversations-37e1c187
His numerous boondoggles are intended to launder money for thuggish Russian oil oligarchs & murderous petrostate despots.
Imagine how much worse climate change will become under a satellite-enabled surveillance system like his
Larry Ellison
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-cia-made-larry-ellison-a-billionaire-2014-9https://www.status.news/p/larry-ellison-2020-election-cbs-news-january-6
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Beyond the limit
New ESO study finds that current proposals to launch 1.7+ million satellites into orbit would have devastating consequences for astronomy.
The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital
1/4
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment #pollution
@esoastronomy Neither humanity nor the planet needs this.
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@esoastronomy why on Earth would we want sunlight at night?
@bustikiller @esoastronomy Just another Capitalist scheme to monetize something, anything, everything…
#TheCapitalistEndGame -
@esoastronomy Neither humanity nor the planet needs this.
@someguy @esoastronomy This IS The End Game, strangle us with their wealth, hoping they survive to enjoy the spoils of a trashed planet.
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@esoastronomy I suggest you charter a ship and sail it in the exclusion zone when such rocket launches are planned.
You could also try to shoot down the rocket with those datacenter and mirror satellites.
I think it is legitimate defense.
At least starlink has some use to be in space. But datacenters? Or mirrors? WTH???@gunstick @esoastronomy They just do not care about humanity. I do not even dare to imagine the result of mirrors. Do we not have enough drought these days? What will happen to Africa and India? They are already suffering worse than the Europeans due to this rapid climate change 🤬
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Elon Musk is a fossil fuel shill.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/05/13/trump-tech-execs-riyadh/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/business/xai-humain-saudi-musk-spacex.html
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/musk-putin-secret-conversations-37e1c187
His numerous boondoggles are intended to launder money for thuggish Russian oil oligarchs & murderous petrostate despots.
Imagine how much worse climate change will become under a satellite-enabled surveillance system like his
Larry Ellison
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-cia-made-larry-ellison-a-billionaire-2014-9https://www.status.news/p/larry-ellison-2020-election-cbs-news-january-6
@Npars01 @esoastronomy There are many nasty high profile people in the news who display this exact expression (as in image) when they are exerting their nastiness onto others. And of course, instead of being a warning ‘tell’, we allow it. Maybe this is what the sheep deserve because a good number of us admire this kind of $$$gluttony. We want to be there with him.
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@YannC @esoastronomy For as long as their investment cash keeps coming in.
@nini @YannC @esoastronomy As I mentioned before - they do not give a fuck about anything but their wealth. Which is a poverty in all shapes and forms. They (the extremely wealthy) are shielded from reality with the greed and leverage they have.
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@esoastronomy
The FCC should only authorise spectrum over USA, not orbits and not RF elsewhere (AST). Not fit for purpose.
"The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital"
Those should be rejected by any sane civilisation.SF is not blueprints, but entertainment and/or warnings.
@raymaccarthy @esoastronomy It's amazing that countries haven't started labeling Musk orgs as threats to the national interest. It's time to start treating these greedy fuckers as adversaries.
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Beyond the limit
New ESO study finds that current proposals to launch 1.7+ million satellites into orbit would have devastating consequences for astronomy.
The most extreme proposals come from SpaceX & Reflect Orbital
1/4
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment #pollution
Will the datacenters have any advantage in terms of cooling in space? I thought this was a non-starter. Maybe the electricity from the sun is somehow making it worthwhile?
I really don't understand why that would be functional. Maybe if there are 1 million of them the math works out? Seems like a high number.
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@gunstick @esoastronomy They just do not care about humanity. I do not even dare to imagine the result of mirrors. Do we not have enough drought these days? What will happen to Africa and India? They are already suffering worse than the Europeans due to this rapid climate change 🤬
@connynasch @gunstick @esoastronomy Mirrors in space can go suck my … Evil.
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@Npars01 @esoastronomy There are many nasty high profile people in the news who display this exact expression (as in image) when they are exerting their nastiness onto others. And of course, instead of being a warning ‘tell’, we allow it. Maybe this is what the sheep deserve because a good number of us admire this kind of $$$gluttony. We want to be there with him.
As has been reported, much of Elon Musk's apparent public favorability is fake.
It's used to gain venture capital for him & manipulate stock markets.
https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-misled-twitter-shareholders-us-jury-finds/a-76462448
Bots fishing for Greater Fools
https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/cryptocurrency/elon-musk-promises-algorithm-transparency-as-crypto-bots-flood-x/cmUeZItR43Xhttps://www.businessinsider.com/grok-ai-elon-musk-is-more-fit-than-lebron-james-2025-11
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/14/elon-musk-grok-ai-chatbot-x-linda-yaccarino
https://forward.com/culture/754111/grok-nazi-hitler-elon-musk-antisemitism-delusion/
Paid-for Russian influencers
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/29/the-uneasy-story-about-an-alleged-russian-spy-best-podcasts-of-the-weekIt's public sentiment manipulation by corporate interests
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Both SpaceX & Reflect Orbital have filed with the US Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch.
Our response to the FCC, together with the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, was based on this study
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/
F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser@esoastronomy as a stargazer myself, I am obviously standing with you against light pollution that would prohibit certain astronomy research. But the thing is, something much worse is going on, and it is mentioned in only a footnote in your article: the potential devastating effects on our ozone layer by the continuous reentries of old tech satellites which are mostly aluminum. This is the real problem on why these megaconstellations should be halted.
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@esoastronomy as a stargazer myself, I am obviously standing with you against light pollution that would prohibit certain astronomy research. But the thing is, something much worse is going on, and it is mentioned in only a footnote in your article: the potential devastating effects on our ozone layer by the continuous reentries of old tech satellites which are mostly aluminum. This is the real problem on why these megaconstellations should be halted.
@esoastronomy your cause is very valid but some meteorological research groups should be mobilized to address a higher level cause than the light pollution cause.
