Could orbital data centers ruin the night sky?

On top of a mountain in the Chilean desert, a telescope funded by American taxpayers for $800 million has just opened its eye.

The brand-new Vera C. Rubin Observatory is intended to carry out a revolutionary “survey” of the universe, the most comprehensive catalog of its galaxies, asteroids, supernovas and black holes ever made. But Rubin’s scientists encountered a problem. Fast, light-reflecting satellites leave white trails in their photographs.