this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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With all these SpaceX satellites deployed I’ve been wondering how so many people still got unaffected shots.
Because SpaceX satellites are coated in special reflective materials to reduce brightness. That requires the satellite to be oriented the right way to reflect the light from the sun away from the planet, so it only reduces brightness of the satellites in the operational orbit. Satellites immediately after deployment are far more visible.
Because stacking software can easily filter them out.
For some cases that doesn't really help. For example if you do a large survey of the sky for transient peak detection you don't have the time to spend multiple lights on a single part of the sky. I'm not sure if the satellite trail removal is helpful for that, but the trails themselves are certainly an issue for sky surveys.