Experts from NASA warn that Starlink satellites are 'eroding' the Earth's magnetic field

The shocking information comes from a study that suggests that dense satellite activity could "disrupt Earth's magnetosphere, exposing all life to deadly cosmic rays.

SpaceX's Starlink satellite network serves a practical role, providing satellite Internet access, mainly targeting areas that have difficulty without adequate Internet infrastructure. However, the downside of these satellites is rarely mentioned.

SpaceX's Starlink satellite network will be even more dense in the future. (Photo: Getty).

In a recent study, Dr. Sierra Solter-Hunt, a former NASA physicist, warned that SpaceX's cluster of thousands of satellites could "disrupt Earth's magnetosphere, exposing all life to deadly cosmic rays." .

The study is based on new estimates that SpaceX is burning up more than 1.3 tons of Internet satellite debris as the objects enter Earth's atmosphere every hour.

Normally, this is the basic process for the rocket to reach the required altitude, before entering an operational orbit. It is also the process of ending the life cycle of a rocket, or satellite piece, when they complete their mission.

However, due to the extremely dense number of satellites, this activity creates a layer of metallic "conducting particles" on the orbital layer, also known as metal dust accumulation.

These metal dusts are mostly much heavier than the mass of charged particles that protect Earth from cosmic radiation. This causes them to be trapped in the Van Allen Radiation Belt at an altitude of 12,000-60,000 km, surrounding the entire surface of the Earth.

Dr. Sierra Solter-Hunt emphasized: "I am surprised that there is very little scientific research on the accumulation of metal dust from the space industry. It could be a global problem."

New research estimates that SpaceX is currently burning more than 1.3 tons of Internet satellite debris in Earth's atmosphere every hour, creating a layer of metallic "conducting particles" in orbit (Photo: Twitter).

According to astronomers' estimates, at the end of March, there were about 5,504 Starlink satellites operating in Earth orbit, out of 5,442 active satellites.

Not stopping there, in the near future, tens of thousands of other satellites are also planned to be launched into orbit and put into operation.

Dr. Sierra Solter-Hunt said that particles alone from Starlink satellites in the final stages of their life cycle are enough to deform the magnetosphere, creating a "magnetic trap" phenomenon , causing the Earth's atmosphere to can't get out.

The serious thing is that such a layer of charged metal dust could lead to the loss of the atmosphere - similar to what happened to Mars or Mercury.

"Currently we have about 10,000 satellites in orbit. But in the next 10-15 years, this number will reach 100,000 ," Dr. Solter-Hunt warned. "At that time, I thought it might be too late."

Dr. Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina, Canada, said that this new research is the first step, playing the role of attracting necessary public attention to the huge amount of cosmic dust accumulating in the atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere.

According to Dr. Lawler, the consequences of this satellite pollution could be on a completely different scale than we usually think.

Experts and astronomers are also particularly concerned that space junk from satellite operations could permanently hinder observatories on the ground, causing space research to stop. stagnation.