Internet satellites from companies like Spacex and Oneweb have contributed to an increased amount of light pollution, and now astronomers want the authorities to do something about it, reports The Verge.
Among other things, light pollution makes it more difficult for astronomers to carry out research that involves studying space and the universe.
“What we are seeing is a dramatic, fundamental and perhaps semi-permanent transformation of the night sky that has no historical precedent and that has limited oversight,” write several researchers in a new report.
The number of satellites in low Earth orbit has more than doubled since 2019. There are currently 9,800 satellites in Earth orbit. According to the European Southern Observatory, that number could have risen to 75,000 by 2030.
