PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 15, 2021
Googling “satellite broadband astronomy” will bring up a host of articles about the threat that Elon Musk’s projected 12,000 satellites may pose to science, to our enjoyment of the night sky and to nocturnal wildlife. Amazon also has plans for its own constellation, as do other companies here and abroad. Within a few years, there may be more satellites overhead than visible stars. We may think of astronomy as an arcane field, but what we learn about distant galaxies and black holes informs the quantum physics that gives us smart phones and microwave ovens, as well as deepening our appreciation of the universe’s mystery. We need to be careful about how we proceed. ~ Neil Gallagher, Brunswick