Residents in a rural area of California were recently stunned when they spotted a bright light shining down from nearby mountains at night, The Guardian reported. A US-based start-up was behind the test, which was conducted to showcase a futuristic idea of putting thousands of giant mirrors in space to reflect sunlight onto the Earth during the night. They argue that the technology could help emergency crews and search-and-rescue teams work safely in the dark, or could even provide power to solar panels at night.
The company, Reflect Orbital, hopes to launch 50,000 satellites over the next decade.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in July approved Reflect Orbital’s proposal to launch an initial demonstration satellite next year.
However, the environmental groups, astronomers, and local residents have criticised the demonstration. Critics say that all life on Earth evolved around a natural cycle of day and night, and messing with that balance could harm wildlife, disrupt people’s sleep, and ruin night skies by adding massive light pollution. “There are a huge number of unresolved questions and significant potential impacts. Literally all of life on Earth evolved based on the rhythm of day and night, and there is a ton of data showing that messing with this is not a good idea.”
“This is an idiotic project,” Jan Hasselman, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, which is an environmental group, said as quoted.
