NOTE: Radio Astronomers had previously complained about the bands that LEO satellites use for their communications transmissions ( Radio Astronomers had previously complained about the bands that LEO satellites use for their communications transmissions ( here ), but today’s story represents a different problem. the larger the constellation, the stronger the received leakage radiation) and, b) Radio Telescopes are incredibly sensitive devices where any leakage can potentially disrupt their observations. However, just to be absolutely clear, Starlink’s satellites aren’t strictly breaking any rules here because the leakage is said to be “unintended” (i.e. there aren’t any international regulations in place to break), which means that it’s probably “due to electromagnetic leakage radiation from the on-board electronics“. The intensity of that signal would correspond to the brightest astronomical radio sources in the sky.

Source: The Guardian July 11, 2023 18:49 UTC