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A comment on SATCON1 Report on Impact of Satellite Constellations on Astronomy. Parent comment

Re:SATCON1 Report on Impact of Satellite Constellations on A... by yazaddaruvala on Wednesday August 26, 2020 @04:23PM (#24286851)
To me, this is the same as building a city. Does it destroy the previous view? Yes. Does looking at a city's skyline inspire awe? Yes. For me replacing one type of awe for another is net neutral.

I grew up in Vancouver, BC, Canada. From downtown Vancouver you can see many mountains. When looking at the city skyline it is back-dropped with these mountain ranges. The combination impresses me even more than either the city or the mountain range.

Similarly, I look forward to seeing satellite constellations and behind them the stars. I would love for my kids to look up and be comforted knowing they can easily contact any other person on the planet. I want them to see the satellite constellations as a monument to human creation (10th wonder of the world), and be inspired to join that technological journey. I also want to point out the stars behind the satellites and have them be humbled by the magnitude that is space and bring with it hope and wonder.

While these satellites should try to be the least intrusive as possible, I'm not sure we need to think of it as a zero-sum game.

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Re:SATCON1 Report on Impact of Satellite Constellations on A... by nitrogen on Wednesday August 26, 2020 @06:13PM (#24287906)
You can always choose to leave a city. You can't avoid polar orbits. A city warps the view in one place, while brightly lit polar orbiting satellites warp the view everywhere. That said, the Starlink sats are supposed to become invisible to the eye in their final orbits.
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Re:SATCON1 Report on Impact of Satellite Constellations on A... by trothamel on Wednesday August 26, 2020 @09:50PM (#24289398)
And thanks to LEO broadband, you can choose to leave the city and still have the high-speed internet that has proved to be necessary in this time of mandated shutdowns.
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