ANSA NEWS!
Arkansas Natural Sky Association
ANSA is a membership-based 501(c)3 non-profit & the Arkansas chapter of DarkSky International.
🛰️ This photo of 14,000 satellite trails shows how busy space is becoming!
Astrophotographer and teacher Brendan Larsen spent 2 hours taking 578 photos of one section of sky in New Zealand to see how satellites are changing our night skies.
This satellite boom has really exploded in recent years. For example, 9,000 satellites have been deployed by SpaceX since 2019 to deliver its Starlink internet service.
Larsen is concerned about the potential environmental impacts of satellites, from disruption of nocturnal animals like bats and moths to impacts on Earth’s atmosphere as the satellites burn up during re-entry at the end of their lifespans.
“I recognise that satellites provide valuable services… but I think we need to take the potential long-term environmental consequences of these enormous satellite constellations seriously,” he says.
Learn more in the article from New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2595529-photo-of-14000-satellite-trails-shows-how-busy-space-is-beco...
We're excited to share a new feature on our website:
🦉 Stella's Dark Sky Game! Its as easy as 1, 2, 3...
🌙 Play - Join Stella the Night-Wise Owl on a night time adventure to discover why darkness matters for people and wildlife.
💡 Take the Quiz - Test what you've learned about the night sky and light pollution.
🔭 Take it Outside - Switch off your lights and give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust to the night sky. Then count how many stars you can see.
Play the game here:
darkskyarkansas.org/stellas-dark-sky-game/
Let us know what you think!
Happy Halloween! 🎃
Active regions on the Sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014. The active regions appear brighter because those are areas that emit more light and energy - markers of an intense and complex set of magnetic fields hovering in the Sun’s atmosphere, the corona. This image blends together two sets of wavelengths at 171 and 193 angstroms, typically colorized in gold and yellow, to create a particularly Halloween-like appearance.
📷: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center/ SDO
