Brightness Characteristics of the Qianfan Satellites and Evidence That Some Are Tumbling
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| Soggetti: | |
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| _version_ | 1866908360121516032 |
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| author | Mallama, Anthony Cole, Richard E. Hellmich, Stephan Spinner, Roger Warner, Jeff Respler, Jay |
| author_facet | Mallama, Anthony Cole, Richard E. Hellmich, Stephan Spinner, Roger Warner, Jeff Respler, Jay |
| contents | The mean apparent magnitude of the Qianfan satellites is 5.76 +/- 0.04, while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a distance of 1,000 km is 5.24 +/- 0.04, based on 1,161 observations. Light curves of several spacecraft display rapid periodic fluctuations which indicate that they are tumbling. Nearly all of the non-tumbling satellite observations can be modeled with diffusely reflecting, Earth-facing surfaces. The Qianfan constellation will impact astronomical research and aesthetic appreciation of the night sky unless their brightness is mitigated. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_07194 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Brightness Characteristics of the Qianfan Satellites and Evidence That Some Are Tumbling Mallama, Anthony Cole, Richard E. Hellmich, Stephan Spinner, Roger Warner, Jeff Respler, Jay Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics The mean apparent magnitude of the Qianfan satellites is 5.76 +/- 0.04, while the mean of magnitudes adjusted to a distance of 1,000 km is 5.24 +/- 0.04, based on 1,161 observations. Light curves of several spacecraft display rapid periodic fluctuations which indicate that they are tumbling. Nearly all of the non-tumbling satellite observations can be modeled with diffusely reflecting, Earth-facing surfaces. The Qianfan constellation will impact astronomical research and aesthetic appreciation of the night sky unless their brightness is mitigated. |
| title | Brightness Characteristics of the Qianfan Satellites and Evidence That Some Are Tumbling |
| topic | Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.07194 |