A giant space mirror has one Sask. astronomer worried

[00:00:01]It really does sound like something out of a science fiction novel. A US company trying to control the sunlight at night.

[00:00:09]It is very real and was recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission. California startup Reflect Orbital received permission to test a satellite bearing an 18-m 18-m wide mirror. The company claims it could help to light up streets and fuel solar farms at night. But Samantha Loring is concerned about what this means for our night skies and Earth's low orbit. She's an associate professor at University of Regina and good morning and good morning and good morning to you, Samantha.

[00:00:42]>> Good morning.

[00:00:43]>> [laughter] >> So, okay. I am tripping over my words here because this is just stunning to me. A giant space mirror. It just It sounds like a cartoon. Would that even work for solar power?

[00:00:54]>> No. No, it doesn't work. It's so it's so ridiculous, right? So, you said it's like out of a science fiction novel.

[00:01:00]It's like out of a bad science fiction novel where they missed the point.

[00:01:05]Right? So, it's it's bright enough to cause really huge problems for plants and animals that have circadian rhythms that require night time. It's uh bright enough to cause problems for astronomy uh and it's not nearly bright enough to actually provide solar power. Um you need hundreds of these satellites all pointed at the same spot in order to generate solar power. And that's what they say they're going to do, but it's it's ridiculous. Like we have batteries, right? Like there's so many ways to do this better.

[00:01:38]>> [laughter] >> Um but this is they they have permission to launch one now and I'm I'm horrified.

[00:01:43]>> Yeah, let's talk more about that. Why are you concerned about the project?

[00:01:48]>> Um it's it's just it's it's uh pretty impressive greenwashing, right? They're They're saying that, "Okay, well, we can provide solar power at night uh with no infrastructure and like well, yes, if you ignore all the infrastructure for launching it and and like building it and putting it in orbit and then burning it up at the end of its operational lifetime. Yeah, sure.

[00:02:09]But [laughter] that's actually a lot.

[00:02:12]So and it's it's will be multiple times as bright as the full moon.

[00:02:18]I've seen some calculations including in their own their own filing. They admit that there's a possibility that you could damage your eyes if you look at it through a small telescope. Right? It's it's there's actual danger physical danger to people on the ground and especially astronomers.

[00:02:38]>> And and what about just the sky for kind of the naked eye here at home? Would we notice an effect here?

[00:02:44]>> Yeah, we could. It's they plan to put it in a polar orbit. So it will go over every part of the world and yeah, because it's multiple times as bright as the full moon, right? You you go outside to a dark place on a moonless night and you can see everything, right? We're we're so lucky.

[00:03:04]We have such good dark skies here, but you go outside on a full moon night, you can barely see any stars, right? So it would be like that. It takes away the the stars. Luckily it can only point at the same spot for 4 minutes because of the ridiculous plan they have, but so it only will blast out the night sky for a few minutes, but I I have serious concerns about what this will do for animals and plants that require darkness at night.

[00:03:30]>> No kidding. And then I know we've talked to you about space junk falling here before. Is that another concern with this as well?

[00:03:38]>> Yeah, I mean everything that that gets put into lower earth orbit. The plan is to burn it up in earth's atmosphere which is a huge pollution risk and then if it doesn't burn up completely, it hits the ground and and that's just considered fine. It's It's really the It was fine when we had just a few satellites, but now that we have more than 16,000 satellites in orbit, that's that's not fine anymore. We We need to do this better.

[00:04:03]>> And so, what have you and other astronomers been doing to kind of voice these concerns?

[00:04:08]>> Oh my gosh, talking to anybody who will listen, right? [laughter] It's It's It's a weird one, right? Because it It is actually a sovereignty issue, right?

[00:04:16]Like are Isn't an American company allowed to shine light down on Canada?

[00:04:21]We We don't actually know the answer to that. Are they allowed to shine lights down on First Nations, right? Like there's There's a lot of legal issues here that are just getting glossed over.

[00:04:31]What happens if you do damage your eyes?

[00:04:33]Who's liable, right? Like it's it's Is it the US government like under the Outer Space Treaty, or is it something totally different? So, I I'm Yeah, I'm not looking forward to finding out the answers to these questions. I wish they could have done simulations rather than launching a stupid satellite.

[00:04:49]>> And do you feel like it's all falling on just people not listening to you? Like I can hear the frustration in your voice.

[00:04:56]What's it like voicing this concern out there and and, you know, seeing this still continue?

[00:05:03]>> Well, we we initially We being a lot of astronomers who are very concerned about this initially focused our efforts on the American Federal Communications Commission, the only federal agency that has to approve this, right? And and they ruled in the end that because all of the concerns, the thousands of letters they received were about optical light, they regulate radio. So, they don't need to worry about it, which means nobody's worrying about it. So, So, that that was very disappointing.

[00:05:33]So, now we're just trying to teach people this is coming. Most people have no idea that this has been approved and that it's going to change the night sky for everyone in the world.

[00:05:42]>> No kidding. What can the rest of us do who might be concerned after hearing from you.

[00:05:48]Talk talk to your government representatives, right? Like again, most people have no idea this is coming. It is a sovereignty issue, right? The Canadian government should be concerned about this and I have talked to a few people, but most people are still kind of in a state of shock. Like really, this is actually happening, but they're they're planning to launch it before the end of the year.

[00:06:09]>> Well, we appreciate you telling us about it and spreading the word here. Yeah, it is one of those things that warrants a second look. So, we'll be keeping an eye on it for sure. Thank you so much, Samantha.

[00:06:20]>> Yeah, thanks for having me. Clear skies, enjoy them.

[00:06:23]>> [laughter] >> Samantha Lawler is an associate professor at University of Regina.