{"id":47507,"date":"2023-07-08T07:34:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-08T07:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=120151"},"modified":"2023-07-08T08:32:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T08:32:31","slug":"new-software-will-help-hubble-edit-out-satellite-interference","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/new-software-will-help-hubble-edit-out-satellite-interference\/","title":{"rendered":"New software will help Hubble edit out satellite interference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Computer program that uses the Radon Transform will remove satellite streaks from the space telescope\u2019s images. <\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 08 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> has been fighting an increasingly difficult battle in recent years against satellites leaving bright trails across its images, but a new piece of software could provide a valuable weapon in efforts to remove them.<\/p>\n

When Hubble launched in 1990, there were only around 470 satellites in orbit.\u00a0Today there are close to 8,000 and the number is rising fast.<\/p>\n

As the telescope sits in low-Earth orbit, many of these satellites pass above it, crossing its field of view and leaving bright streaks across its images.<\/p>\n

In 2022, around 10% of Hubble images were affected by such interlopers.\u00a0Fortunately, the problem only affects a small part of each image\u2019s field.<\/p>\n