Table 1 Properties of the population of simulated satellite trails as a function of the telescope and number of satellites simulated (Nsat = 10,000–1,000,000)
From: Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy
Observable parameter | Telescope | Nsat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10,000 | 100,000 | 560,000 | 1,000,000 | ||
Average number of satellite trails detected per exposure | Hubble | \({0.09}_{-0.03}^{+0.02}\) | \({0.44}_{-0.10}^{+0.09}\) | \({2.14}_{-0.47}^{+0.46}\) | \({3.93}_{-0.92}^{+0.98}\) |
SPHEREx | \({2.32}_{-0.28}^{+0.27}\) | \({2.95}_{-0.29}^{+0.29}\) | \({5.64}_{-0.27}^{+0.28}\) | \({8.71}_{-0.44}^{+0.44}\) | |
ARRAKIHS | \({2.64}_{-0.32}^{+0.32}\) | \({13.5}_{-3.7}^{+3.6}\) | \({69}_{-21}^{+21}\) | \({127}_{-41}^{+43}\) | |
Xuntian | \({2.19}_{-0.23}^{+0.23}\) | \({17.6}_{-2.0}^{+2.0}\) | \({92}_{-10}^{+11}\) | \({165}_{-21}^{+21}\) | |
Simulated exposures with at least one trail (%) | Hubble | 8.0 ± 2.1 | 19.6 ± 3.2 | 39.6 ± 4.6 | 39.7 ± 4.7 |
SPHEREx | 78.0 ± 6.4 | 87.7 ± 6.9 | 99.4 ± 7.8 | 98.3 ± 7.5 | |
ARRAKIHS | 69.8 ± 6.1 | 82.5 ± 6.6 | 96.2 ± 7.2 | 95.9 ± 7.5 | |
Xuntian | 67.7 ± 6.0 | 91.4 ± 7.0 | 97.8 ± 7.3 | 97.1 ± 7.5 | |
Area affected (arcmin2) | Hubble (× 10−2) | \({0.32}_{-0.09}^{+0.08}\) | \({1.81}_{-0.40}^{+0.38}\) | \({10.2}_{-2.2}^{+2.2}\) | \({18.9}_{-4.4}^{+4.7}\) |
SPHEREx | \({105}_{-13}^{+12}\) | \({141}_{-14}^{+14}\) | \({586}_{-28}^{+29}\) | \({934}_{-47}^{+47}\) | |
ARRAKIHS | \({22.9}_{-2.7}^{+2.8}\) | \({120}_{-33}^{+32}\) | \({610}_{-190}^{+190}\) | \({1,130}_{-360}^{+380}\) | |
Xuntian | \({1.70}_{-0.20}^{+0.20}\) | \({19.1}_{-2.2}^{+2.1}\) | \({106}_{-12}^{+12}\) | \({193}_{-25}^{+24}\) | |
FOV affected by trails (%) | Hubble | \({0.03}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}\) | \({0.16}_{-0.04}^{+0.03}\) | \({0.92}_{-0.20}^{+0.20}\) | \({1.69}_{-0.39}^{+0.42}\) |
SPHEREx | \({0.07}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}\) | \({0.10}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}\) | \({0.41}_{-0.02}^{+0.02}\) | \({0.66}_{-0.03}^{+0.03}\) | |
ARRAKIHS | \({0.45}_{-0.06}^{+0.06}\) | \({2.38}_{-0.65}^{+0.63}\) | \({12.2}_{-3.8}^{+3.7}\) | \({22.3}_{-7.2}^{+7.4}\) | |
Xuntian | \({0.039}_{-0.004}^{+0.004}\) | \({0.44}_{-0.05}^{+0.05}\) | \({2.46}_{-0.28}^{+0.28}\) | \({4.46}_{-0.57}^{+0.56}\) | |
Surface brightness magnitude (mag arcsec−2) | Sun-illuminated | Non- Sun-illuminated | |||
Hubble | \({18.8}_{-1.6}^{+1.4}\) | \({22.3}_{-1.7}^{+1.7}\) | |||
SPHEREx | \({21.1}_{-3.0}^{+1.9}\) | — | |||
ARRAKIHS | \({18.9}_{-1.3}^{+1.9}\) | \({22.8}_{-1.2}^{+1.5}\) | |||
Xuntian | \({18.1}_{-1.3}^{+1.4}\) | \({21.6}_{-1.6}^{+1.8}\) | |||
