The BlueWalker 3 Satellite Has Faded
Observations of BlueWalker 3 (BW3) beginning on December 8 of this year indicate that its apparent brightness had decreased. We postulate that the orbital beta angle and resultant solar power considerations required an adjustment to the satellite attitude around that time. So, the nominally zenith f...
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Zusammenfassung: | Observations of BlueWalker 3 (BW3) beginning on December 8 of this year
indicate that its apparent brightness had decreased. We postulate that the
orbital beta angle and resultant solar power considerations required an
adjustment to the satellite attitude around that time. So, the nominally zenith
facing side of the flat-panel shaped spacecraft, which supports the solar
array, was tilted toward the Sun. Consequently, the nadir side, which is seen
by observers on the ground, was mostly dark. Thus, BW3 has generally appeared
faint and on some occasions was not seen at all. The amount of fading was up to
4 magnitudes. Numerical modeling indicates that the amount of tilt was in the
range 13{\deg} to 16{\deg}. This situation indicates the improvement in the
appearance of BW3 from the ground that can be achieved with small tilts of the
spacecraft. Satellite operators and astronomers can jointly address the adverse
impact of bright satellites on celestial observations based on this finding. |
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DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.2301.01601 |