Related papers: Brightness Characterization and Modeling for Amazo…
The mean of 830 visual magnitudes adjusted to a distance of 550 km (the operational altitude) is 4.63 +/-0.02. The data on DarkSat, the low-albedo satellite, indicate that it is fainter than the others by 1.6 magnitudes or 78%. However,…
The mean of 430 visual magnitudes of VisorSats adjusted to a distance of 550-km (the operational altitude) is 5.92 +/-0.04. This is the characteristic brightness of these satellites when observed at zenith. VisorSats average 1.29 magnitudes…
The Steward Observatory LEO Satellite Photometric Survey is a comprehensive observational survey to characterize the apparent brightness of the Starlink and OneWeb low Earth orbit satellites and evaluate the potential impact on astronomy.…
Observations of Starlink V2 Mini satellites during orbit-raising suggest that SpaceX applies brightness mitigation when they reach a height of 357 km. The mean apparent magnitudes for objects below that height threshold is 2.68 while the…
A large dataset of visual magnitudes for all three designs of Starlink satellites is analyzed. Brightness phase functions are derived for the Original, VisorSat and Post-VisorSat models. Similarities and differences between the functions…
The mean visual magnitude of OneWeb satellites at the standard satellite distance of 1,000 km is 7.18 +/-0.03 . When this value is adjusted to the nominal 1,200 km altitude of a OneWeb satellite in orbit it corresponds to magnitude 7.58…
Starlink is a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation operated by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) which aims to provide global satellite internet access. Thus far, most photometric observations of Starlink satellites…
Based on a large set of visual observations, the mean apparent magnitude of BlueBird satellites is 3.44, while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a uniform distance of 1000 km is 3.84. Near zenith the spacecraft can be as bright as…
The mean apparent magnitude and the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a standard distance are reported. The illumination phase function for OneWeb satellites is determined and it differs strongly from that of VisorSat spacecraft. Brightness…
We report studies on the mitigation of optical effects of bright low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites on Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). These include options for pointing the telescope to avoid…
Brightness statistics for satellites of the Starlink, BlueBird, Qianfan, Guowang and OneWeb constellations are reported. The means and standard deviations are compared to acceptable limits set by the International Astronomical Union's…
The mean apparent magnitude of the Qianfan satellites is 5.76 +/- 0.04, while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a distance of 1,000 km is 5.24 +/- 0.04, based on 1,161 observations. Light curves of several spacecraft display rapid periodic…
The mean apparent magnitude of Starlink Mini Direct-To-Cell (DTC) satellites is 4.62 while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a uniform distance of 1000 km is 5.50. DTCs average 4.9 times brighter than other Starlink Mini spacecraft at a…
Starlink Generation 2 Mini satellites are fainter than Gen 1 spacecraft despite their larger size. The mean of apparent magnitudes for satellites in brightness mitigation mode is 7.06 +/- 0.10. When these magnitudes are adjusted to a…
We present novel techniques and methodology for unresolved photometric characterization of low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. With the Pomenis LEO Satellite Photometric Survey our team has made over 14,000 observations of Starlink and OneWeb…
The mean apparent magnitude of Starlink Mini Direct-To-Cell (DTC) satellites observed in brightness mitigation mode is 5.16, while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a uniform distance of 1,000 km is 6.47. The DTCs have faded since early in…
The Starlink satellites are shaped like flat panels. The flat sides face zenith and nadir during normal operations. Their brightness is determined by the product of the solar illumination on the downward facing side of the panel multiplied…
The effect of satellite constellations on observations in the visible and IR domains is estimated, considering 18 constellations in development by SpaceX, Amazon, OneWeb, and others, with over 26,000 satellites, constituting a…
Magnitudes for the VisorSat and Original-design types were analyzed separately and by time. Mean values are compared with those from other large-scale photometric studies, and some signficant differences are noted. The illumination phase…
Magnitudes recorded from 2021 through 2026 for Starlink VisorSats reveal brightening of 0.6 magnitudes, while those of OneWeb show dimming of 0.4. Both trends are significant at 3 sigma. This study is based on 1.6 million magnitudes…