论文标题
Starlink卫星的光度特征和轨迹精度：对地面天文调查的影响
Photometric Characterization and Trajectory Accuracy of Starlink Satellites: Implications for Ground-Based Astronomical Surveys
论文作者
论文摘要
Starlink是由太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）操作的低地轨道（LEO）卫星星座，旨在提供全球卫星互联网访问。到目前为止，大多数星链卫星的光度观察主要来自公民科学家的视觉观察，而无需使用定量探测器。本文旨在表征Starlink卫星，并研究大型星座对地面天文学的影响，考虑到观察到的大小和两行元素（TLE）残差。在16个月的时间里，我们收集了353个不同的Starlink卫星观测值，我们发现平均GAIA G幅度为5.5 +/- 0.13，标准偏差为1.12。 v1.0（前Visorsat）星际链接的平均幅度为5.1 +/- 0.13，标准偏差为1.13。 SpaceX在称为Darksat的Starlink卫星上短暂使用了低α涂层来测试缓解光污染技术。发现Darksat的亮度为7.3 +/- 0.13，标准偏差为0.78，比V1.0 Starlinks的亮度为7.6倍。后来由于热控制问题而放弃了这个概念，并在未来的称为visorsats的模型中使用了阳光。发现Visorsats的亮度为6.0 +/- 0.13，标准偏差为0.79，比V1.0 Starlinks的亮度为2.3倍。在观测值的跨度上，我们发现TLE的右升级平均至0.12度和-0.08度的平均值。该误差主要是沿轨道的，对应于观察到的轨迹和TLE轨迹之间的0.3秒误差。我们的观察结果表明，对于提议的10秒快门闭合时间，时间差为0.3 +/- 0.28秒，以避免图像中的Starlinks。
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 have primarily been from citizen scientists' visual observations without using quantitative detectors. This paper aims to characterize Starlink satellites and investigate the impact of mega constellations on ground-based astronomy, considering both the observed magnitude and two-line element (TLE) residuals. We collected 353 observations of 61 different Starlink satellites over a 16-month period and we found an average GAIA G magnitude of 5.5 +/- 0.13 with a standard deviation of 1.12. The average magnitude of V1.0 (pre-VisorSat) Starlinks was 5.1 +/- 0.13 with a standard deviation of 1.13. SpaceX briefly used a low-albedo coating on a Starlink satellite called DarkSat to test light pollution mitigation technologies. The brightness of DarkSat was found to be 7.3 +/- 0.13 with a standard deviation of 0.78, or 7.6 times fainter than V1.0 Starlinks. This concept was later abandoned due to thermal control issues and sun visors were used in future models called VisorSats. The brightness of VisorSats was found to be 6.0 +/- 0.13 with a standard deviation of 0.79, or 2.3 times fainter than V1.0 Starlinks. Over the span of the observations, we found that TLEs were accurate to within an average of 0.12 degrees in right ascension and -0.08 degrees in declination. The error is predominantly along-track, corresponding to a 0.3 second time error between the observed and TLE trajectories. Our observations show that a time difference of 0.3 +/- 0.28 seconds is viable for a proposed 10 second shutter closure time to avoid Starlinks in images.
