Earth’s satellite dilemma is only becoming more severe as time progresses and additional satellites are launched into orbit. One of the primary challenges posed by the sheer volume of satellites in orbit is their impact on our observations of the stars due to light pollution. Nevertheless, astronomers might have devised a clever strategy to coat satellites in a literal shade of darkness to help them evade detection by telescopes.
The “darkness” referenced here is an ultra-black coating known as Vantablack 310. It ranks among the darkest coatings ever developed and could aid in preventing satellites from reflecting light back toward Earth. At present, when a satellite passes through a telescope’s field of view, it creates a streak that severely disrupts image quality.
Moreover, Starlink satellites occupy such low orbits that they often appear significantly brighter than the stars astronomers wish to observe. However, Vantablack 310 could diminish that brightness by restricting the amount of light reflected by the satellites to merely 2%. This represents a remarkable enhancement that would essentially eliminate satellite trails in telescope images.
With the upcoming launch of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory later this year, reducing light pollution from satellites remains a crucial objective for astronomers. The issue with simply applying conventional Vantablack paint to satellites is that it absorbs 99% of incoming light, causing those satellites to overheat rapidly, resulting in additional complications.
This is not an issue with Vantablack 310, which is being developed in collaboration with astronomers. The team explains that they required a formulation manageable by engineers, which is precisely the aim of this new variation of the ultra-black coating.
The company responsible for the new paint claims that it should render satellites invisible to the naked eye. Whether this paint will be adopted by satellite manufacturers is a different matter entirely. SpaceX has explored similar solutions in the past, but they continuously faced the aforementioned overheating challenges.
It is hoped that the concept of coating satellites in what amounts to literal darkness will appeal to satellite producers, particularly if we aspire to continue exploring space and uncovering more of our universe’s secrets.
