It's nice and warm out, and the 2 new baby goats are really healthy, so they got to go out and meet their herdmates. (Their herdmates were EXTREMELY interested in meeting them, hilariously, especially the llama)
COOL! The spicy article I wrote about satellite pollution is FINALLY published! "Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy research worldwide" in Nature News & Views.
This article required weeks of back-and-forth with the editor, the editor-in-chief, and Nature's lawyers, so I hope that means it's a good one.
During this process, I learned that satellite companies are so powerful and litigious that even giant publishers like Nature are terrified of getting sued. Which is...rather worrying.
Just got an email from first Nature editor I talked to about writing this piece, and they thanked me for writing it and apologized for the fact that my rage got toned-down by Nature's lawyers. Interesting!
Ended by saying that they are glad they're retiring soon because they are scared that ground-based astronomy will be dead in 5 years and I should keep fighting.
That's high in the running for the most depressing conclusion to an email I've ever received. Wow.
The summary: astronomers spent a lot of time asking SpaceX and other large satellite operators to pretty please make their satellites fainter and/or use fewer satellites. And then BlueWalker 3 was launched by some tiny company and is one of the brightest things in the sky. Asking nicely isn't working: international regulation and pollution penalties are needed.
Hey cool, apparently when you write something for Nature they send you a free paper copy! Kinda neat to see my name in there.
I sincerely hope my article makes someone in power think a little harder about the lack of regulations in orbit (but I'm not holding my breath...I'll keep fighting)
The free link to read the article is a couple posts up-thread, if you are interested and haven't already read it.
Had to take a slight detour to go put escapee goats back in the pen. But now I've got a cup coffee, and a cat sitting on my lap, and I'm ready to finish this piece.
My satellite pollution opinion piece is ~150 words too long and I have to incorporate comments from 5 people I got to read it. Yoga, lunch, then megafocus writing time (I hope).
Professor of astronomy, farmer of goats. Asteroid (42910). She/her. Has mostly lived in warmer places, now learning to live respectfully on Treaty 4 lands (Saskatchewan)