More than 4,500 satellites orbit Earth, and that number will grow by leaps and bounds in just a few years. Astronomers are worried about what all these satellites will mean for their ability to study the night sky. And the satellites and debris from collisions pose a hazard to astronauts in space. But who is responsible? Who owns these thousands of satellites orbiting Earth? A research team from DEWESoft has created a graphic to help the public get a better grasp on who is responsible for the thousands of satellites in space as at 2022-01-18.
SpaceX currently owns 1/3 of the satellites in orbit around Earth, 1,655 satellites and growing. With a plan to send about 1,000 Starlink satellites into space every year, they will continue their domination. They plan to eventually have 12,000 Starlink satellites, with the stated goal of delivering internet to people everywhere on the globe. SpaceX owns more satellites than every other company and country combined. NASA is not even in the top 10 on the list. The United States has the most satellites orbiting Earth, with approximately 2,804. That includes satellites that are governmental and those from entities that operate in the U.S. 75 different countries have at least one satellite orbiting Earth.
2021-12-25 James Webb Space Telescope FINALLY Launched Into Space
I keep saying the delays to get this space telescope launched felt deliberate like some force didn't want this telescope in space so we won't discover what's up there. Furthurmore, I was like, just give it to SpaceX - they would have long since got this space telescope up and running!!! It's ridiculous!!!
The sun-Earth system has 5 Lagrangian points. An object at any 1 of these 5 points will stay in place relative to the other 2 points. Due to gravity and orbital mechanics, a Lagrange point lets scientists “park” an object. Webb will stay in this stable location while it travels with Earth around the sun. Image via NASA.
A new fully interactive 3D real-time visualization tool (web-based application).
Watch all the known near-Earth asteroids and comets in real-time as they orbit the Sun.
Zoom in to travel along with your favorite spacecraft as they explore these fascinating near-Earth objects in beautiful 3D. Updated twice daily with the latest tracking data, the web-based application will automatically add new near-Earth object discoveries for you to explore.
Astronomers discover several asteroids and dozens of comets every year. Some of these objects are near-Earth objects (NEOs) that follow orbits that pass through the inner solar system.
NASA-funded astronomers carefully track these objects, if any might pose a threat to Earth.
NASA has introduced a 3D real-time visualization tool called NASA’s Eyes on Asteroids to explore near-Earth objects approaching Earth’s orbital neighborhood.
NASA’s Eyes on Asteroids is a 3D real-time web-based application that depicts every known NEO’s orbit. Using the slider at the bottom of the screen, you can quickly travel back and forth to view their orbital motion through time.
NASA updates the application with the latest data daily. A new object is discovered, and its orbit is calculated, it’s added to the app.
NASA developed this tool with support from NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office at the agency’s headquarters in Washington and from JPL’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
This new 3D real-time visualization tool also allows us to explore many NEO missions. Select the ‘Event’ tab, and it will give you detailed animated models of those spacecraft and their asteroid or comet encounters.
Jason Craig, a technical producer of the Visualization Technology Applications and Development team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said, “We wanted Eyes on Asteroids to be as user-friendly as possible while telling the stories about humanity’s exploration of these fascinating objects. Every NEO can be found inside the app, as can most spacecraft that have visited these objects.”
“While you’re on the topic, choose the “Asteroid Watch” tab to see the next five asteroid close approaches. We were keen to include this feature, as close asteroid approaches often generate interest. The headlines often depict these close approaches as ‘dangerously’ close, but users will see by using Eyes just how distant most of these encounters are.”
Astronomy has been a hobbie of mine since I was ten (10) years old. It was then I wanted to be an Astrophysicist but that path was terminated for me when I was seventeen (17) years old. My ultimate goal with this site is to make it a great resource for learning astronomy online. At present I am unable to find a website dedicated to teaching novices all about astronomy. While my site do not yet achieve this goal, I hope to achieve this in years to come, even if it takes me 10 years. I'm not in any hurry. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the site. click here for more
2020
One of the gifts of Covid-19 was providing me the opporunity to finally formally study Astronomy and Astrophysics. click here for the courses I took
Location: Bridgetown, BARBADOS
Latitude: 13°1' N Longitude 59°6' W
