3225: Satellite Pollution - Revision history

2A04:7F80:51:6695:8114:7B6:8E76:AEC: /* Explanation */ further grammar fixes

2026-04-11T06:37:15Z

‎Explanation: further grammar fixes

2A04:7F80:51:6695:8114:7B6:8E76:AEC: /* Explanation */ grammar and copy editing

2026-04-11T06:36:08Z

‎Explanation: grammar and copy editing

GSLikesCats307 at 10:58, 7 April 2026

2026-04-07T10:58:39Z

2603:6011:1F0:2A40:452:91EB:B5D3:E279: /* Explanation */

2026-04-03T00:30:56Z

‎Explanation

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2026-03-31T08:16:33Z

‎Explanation

82.132.239.130: /* Explanation */

2026-03-30T15:28:08Z

‎Explanation

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2026-03-30T13:24:48Z

‎Explanation

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2026-03-30T08:17:48Z

‎Explanation

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2026-03-30T08:15:00Z

‎Explanation

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2026-03-30T08:11:18Z

‎Explanation

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, but the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) have less apparent motion than by most artificial satellites (especially those in {{w|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.
+A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, but the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) have less apparent motion than most artificial satellites (especially those in {{w|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.
 This comic satirizes this, by talking about a hypothetical satellite company that knowingly launches large inaccurate star maps to be overlaid across the night sky. This would not only obscure a fair amount of astronomical bodies from view, but also potentially show some that don't actually exist or are in the wrong position, thus causing confusion for an astronomer who fails to identify the interference, and annoyance for any that can.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, though as the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) are greatly outpaced by most examples of artificial satellite (especially those in {{w|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.
+A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, but the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) have less apparent motion than by most artificial satellites (especially those in {{w|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.
 This comic satirizes this, by talking about a hypothetical satellite company that knowingly launches large inaccurate star maps to be overlaid across the night sky. This would not only obscure a fair amount of astronomical bodies from view, but also potentially show some that don't actually exist or are in the wrong position, thus causing confusion for an astronomer who fails to identify the interference, and annoyance for any that can.
-Of course, implementing such a plan would face many problems, such as the pure size and strength needed for the banner to survive in space while being large enough to be noticed by casual observers. Ensuring it maintained it's intended shape and orientation would be challenging. Also, the banner would need to have its own light source, powerful enough to be seen from Earth (although, depending on the distance the banner is from the Earth, it would be easy to make lights capable of being visible from our planet: see the {{What If|13|laser pointer "What-If"}}) or rely upon reflected sunlight. Furthermore, the banner would only provide a convincing star map for observers located on a small area of the Earth's surface; observers outside this small area would see {{w|foreshortening}} of the star map, and experience strong {{w|motion parallax}} effects when travelling across the Earth's surface, making for an unconvincing "sky". These being satellites, they would also be orbiting the Earth. Unless stationed in {{w|geostationary orbit}} (which would place them significantly further away than most satellites and thus need to be made far larger for the same visual effect), even for a single unmoving observer they would move across the sky, and so would have to have dynamic appearance to even ''try'' to match the background starfield semi-consistently.
+Of course, implementing such a plan would face many problems, such as the pure size and strength needed for the banner to survive in space while being large enough to be noticed by casual observers. Ensuring it maintained its intended shape and orientation would be challenging. Also, the banner would need to have its own light source, powerful enough to be seen from Earth (although, depending on the distance the banner is from the Earth, it would be easy to make lights capable of being visible from our planet: see the {{What If|13|laser pointer "What-If"}}) or rely upon reflected sunlight. Furthermore, the banner would only provide a convincing star map for observers located on a small area of the Earth's surface; observers outside this small area would see {{w|foreshortening}} of the star map, and experience strong {{w|motion parallax}} effects when travelling across the Earth's surface, making for an unconvincing "sky". These being satellites, they would also be orbiting the Earth. Unless stationed in {{w|geostationary orbit}} (which would place them significantly further away than most satellites and thus need to be made far larger for the same visual effect), even for a single unmoving observer they would move across the sky, and so would have to have dynamic appearance to even ''try'' to match the background starfield semi-consistently.
 The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w|Large Magellanic Cloud|Large}} and {{w|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:58, 7 April 2026
Line 10:		Line 10:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|This page was created recently by a SATELLITE BOT SHOWING A FAKE XKCD COMIC. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}~~
−
	A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w\|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w\|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w\|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, though as the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) are greatly outpaced by most examples of artificial satellite (especially those in {{w\|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w\|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.		A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w\|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w\|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w\|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, though as the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) are greatly outpaced by most examples of artificial satellite (especially those in {{w\|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w\|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:30, 3 April 2026
Line 19:		Line 19:

	The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w\|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w\|Large Magellanic Cloud\|Large}} and {{w\|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w\|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way\|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w\|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w\|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).		The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w\|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w\|Large Magellanic Cloud\|Large}} and {{w\|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w\|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way\|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w\|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w\|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).
		+
		+	The title (satellite pollution) might be a pun on light pollution, which is a phenomenon in urban areas where the light generated by the light sources, such as lampposts, obscures the stars in the sky, the situation presented in this comic also shows stars being hidden from view, but with banners in the sky rather than light.

	The situation here could perhaps be considered a rough inversion of the scenario as portrayed in [[3173: Satellite Imagery]], though with apparently vastly different motivations.		The situation here could perhaps be considered a rough inversion of the scenario as portrayed in [[3173: Satellite Imagery]], though with apparently vastly different motivations.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 A common concern with new satellite constellations like {{w|Starlink}} is that, because that they rely on large numbers, they make ground-based astronomy more difficult by adding more noise, such as disruptive {{w|satellite flare}} producing something like {{w|star trail}}s during normal observations. They may also possibly obscure targets, though as the background stars (or even most other astronomical objects) are greatly outpaced by most examples of artificial satellite (especially those in {{w|low Earth orbit}}), this would be a momentary {{w|occultation}} at best, and longer term observations should at least give some opportunities to salvage some decent data.
-This comic satirizes this, by talking about a hypothetical satellite company that knowingly launches large inaccurate star maps to be overlaid across the night sky. This would not only obscure a fair amount of stars from view, but also potentially shows stars that don't actually exist or are in the wrong position, thus providing confusion for an astronomer who fails to identify the interference, and annoyance for any that can.
+This comic satirizes this, by talking about a hypothetical satellite company that knowingly launches large inaccurate star maps to be overlaid across the night sky. This would not only obscure a fair amount of astronomical bodies from view, but also potentially show some that don't actually exist or are in the wrong position, thus causing confusion for an astronomer who fails to identify the interference, and annoyance for any that can.
 Of course, implementing such a plan would face many problems, such as the pure size and strength needed for the banner to survive in space while being large enough to be noticed by casual observers. Ensuring it maintained it's intended shape and orientation would be challenging. Also, the banner would need to have its own light source, powerful enough to be seen from Earth (although, depending on the distance the banner is from the Earth, it would be easy to make lights capable of being visible from our planet: see the {{What If|13|laser pointer "What-If"}}) or rely upon reflected sunlight. Furthermore, the banner would only provide a convincing star map for observers located on a small area of the Earth's surface; observers outside this small area would see {{w|foreshortening}} of the star map, and experience strong {{w|motion parallax}} effects when travelling across the Earth's surface, making for an unconvincing "sky". These being satellites, they would also be orbiting the Earth. Unless stationed in {{w|geostationary orbit}} (which would place them significantly further away than most satellites and thus need to be made far larger for the same visual effect), even for a single unmoving observer they would move across the sky, and so would have to have dynamic appearance to even ''try'' to match the background starfield semi-consistently.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:28, 30 March 2026
Line 19:		Line 19:

	The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w\|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w\|Large Magellanic Cloud\|Large}} and {{w\|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w\|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way\|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w\|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w\|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).		The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w\|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w\|Large Magellanic Cloud\|Large}} and {{w\|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w\|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way\|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w\|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w\|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).
		+
		+	The situation here could perhaps be considered a rough inversion of the scenario as portrayed in [[3173: Satellite Imagery]], though with apparently vastly different motivations.

	This comic may<!-- at a push? really needs a link, though--> have a connection to the "collapse" of Google Image Search, where trying to find a real picture of a historical event or scientific phenomenon will now produce an overwhelmingly intrusive quantity of results produced by generative AI and easily mistaken as fact.		This comic may<!-- at a push? really needs a link, though--> have a connection to the "collapse" of Google Image Search, where trying to find a real picture of a historical event or scientific phenomenon will now produce an overwhelmingly intrusive quantity of results produced by generative AI and easily mistaken as fact.

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Of course, implementing such a plan would face many problems, such as the pure size and strength needed for the banner to survive in space while being large enough to be noticed by casual observers. Ensuring it maintained it's intended shape and orientation would be challenging. Also, the banner would need to have its own light source, powerful enough to be seen from Earth (although, depending on the distance the banner is from the Earth, it would be easy to make lights capable of being visible from our planet; see the {{What If|13|laser pointer "What-If"}}) or rely upon reflected sunlight. Furthermore, the banner would only provide a convincing star map for observers located on a small area of the Earth's surface; observers outside this small area would see {{w|foreshortening}} of the star map, and experience strong {{w|motion parallax}} effects when travelling across the Earth's surface, making for an unconvincing "sky". These being satellites, they would also be orbiting the Earth. Unless stationed in {{w|geostationary orbit}} (which would place them significantly further away than most satellites and thus need to be made far larger for the same visual effect), even for a single unmoving observer they would move across the sky, and so would have to have dynamic appearance to even ''try'' to match the background starfield semi-consistently.
-The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w|Large Magellanic Cloud|Large}} and {{w|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live; even in dark rural skies, however, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).
+The title text provides one potential reason for the inaccuracies in the banners (and possibly for the banner project as a whole). It seems that certain parties have been sponsoring the project, paying money in exchange for having galaxies added to the star maps on these banners, or to change their appearance to promote the sponsors' interests. Possibly these sponsors were disappointed by the relative lack of galaxies visible to the naked eye in the night sky; aside from the {{w|Milky Way}} itself, portions of which can be seen from the Earth as a band stretching all the way across the night sky. Only the {{w|Large Magellanic Cloud|Large}} and {{w|Small Magellanic Cloud}} (two of the Milky Way's {{w|Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way|many satellite galaxies}}) and the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} are visible without at least using binoculars. All are easily obscured by {{w|light pollution}}, with even the Milky Way itself being invisible in the washed-out night skies of populated urban and suburban areas where most humans live. Even in dark rural skies, although the Milky Way itself can provide a breathtaking view, the Magellanic Clouds appear as irregular blotches and are primarily visible from the less-populated Southern Hemisphere, while the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a tiny, easy-to-miss oval. The sponsors may have agreed to sponsor the project in order to add additional visible "galaxies" to the night sky and thus make the sky "more beautiful". Fortunately, it seems that the people in charge of the project have realized the problem, and have resolved to cut down on the number of sponsored galaxies in order to present a more accurate star map not as cluttered by fake space objects (although they do not ''completely'' remove them, implying that some level of sponsored embellishment to the star map is still required to keep the project running).
 This comic may<!-- at a push? really needs a link, though--> have a connection to the "collapse" of Google Image Search, where trying to find a real picture of a historical event or scientific phenomenon will now produce an overwhelmingly intrusive quantity of results produced by generative AI and easily mistaken as fact.