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diesiraeSadness t1_jafx6mk wrote

Stupid question but maybe the satellites don’t need to have flashing lights to work? Or is it not about that

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Jakebsorensen t1_jagib9t wrote

Satellites don’t have flashing lights. They reflect sunlight

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I_Heart_Astronomy t1_jait71i wrote

They also reflect light from Earth and natural sky glow from the atmosphere, back down. This is why LEO satellites are still readily visible through telescopes or long exposure imaging despite being in the Earth's shadow.

This sub crawls with people who literally have never looked through a telescope in their life saying "ThEy ArE iNvIsIbLe BeCaUsE sHaDoW!". It's simply not true. They are most definitely visible. Not necessarily always naked-eye visible, but they don't have to be for swarms of them to be contributing to light pollution levels.

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