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arXiv · 2401.01546

Starlink Mini Satellite Brightness Distributions Across the Sky

Anthony Mallama·Richard E. Cole·Jay Respler·Cees Bassa·Scott Harrington·Aaron Worley
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Abstract

The illumination phase functions for Starlink Mini satellites are determined for times of twilight and darkness. Those functions are then evaluated to give apparent magnitudes over a grid of points across the sky and over a range of solar angles below the horizon. Sky maps and a table of satellite magnitude distributions are presented. The largest areas of sky with satellites brighter than magnitudes 6 and 7 both occur during twilight. Brightness surges, known as flares, are also characterized.

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Anthony Mallama, Richard E. Cole, Jay Respler, Cees Bassa, Scott Harrington, Aaron Worley. 2024-01-03. Starlink Mini Satellite Brightness Distributions Across the Sky. https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.01546

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