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Screenshot of kottke.org: Image of our satellite-choked night skies

First screen, captured 8 days ago. Open the video.

Image of our satellite-choked night skies

More from kottke.org →

Kottke.org post on Brendan Larsen's composite of 578 photos over Mt Taranaki showing roughly 1,400 satellites' trails in two hours of night sky.

What HN thinks

Forty-five hours of Photoshop later, the thread argues whether erasing stars counts as lying or as art.

The image is misleading
Critics say hand-erasing stars and compositing two hours of frames exaggerates the problem, with the headline framing it as documentary evidence rather than art.
It's legitimate art and real problem
Defenders note the method was disclosed, astrophotographers routinely remove elements, and real telescope images show similar satellite streaks.
Light pollution matters more; satellites are worth it
Some argue terrestrial light pollution is the bigger issue and satellites provide valuable services, while others counter that you can drive away from city lights but not from satellites.

Consensus: Most agree the photo is a striking composite and that satellite trails are a real and growing phenomenon; they disagree on how serious it is and whether the framing is fair.

Recommended in the comments

observatory ↗ (tool): Its author uses it to capture good night-sky images even during twilight from a suburban driveway.
satellitemap.space ↗ (service): Shared to compare how satellite counts grew between 2020 and now.
LeoLabs Visualization ↗ (service): Posted as a way to see how crowded low Earth orbit is.

Summarised by Claude from the comment thread 8 days ago.

Points: 108
Comments: 74
Best rank: #3
Posted: 2026-11-05 by amatheus
Category: Space

satellites astrophotography light-pollution mt-taranaki starlink photography astronomy

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