Supervisor: Dr Megan Argo
Satellite megaconstellations have grown in number in the last couple of years, with the total population of objects in low Earth orbit increasing dramatically. This is already having a significant impact on astronomical operations across the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as ruining the view of the sky for everyone, and raising the probability of a catastrophic collision – and this is only going to increase as constellations are expanded and more satellites are launched in the coming years. This project would suit a student with an interest either in modelling the population of satellites, exploring the effects on ground-based astronomy and possible mitigation ideas, or investigating the alternatives to ground-based astronomy such as constructing telescopes on the Moon.