this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
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Welp, I guess we all have to suffer with no internet in rural areas because of some astronomy nerds. I'll take global, high-speed, expensive, but still affordable internet over some shots of distant nebulas any day. Not a Musk fan, but this sounds like a desperate attempt to find something to dunk on him for. There's tons of reasons already, but this ain't one.
Scientists doing science > tech bro nomads cosplaying as explorers but actually just playing fortnite in a van. You're also ignoring the other downsides besides spectral emissions. Read the article I linked.
Scientists experiencing slight inconveniences while doing, let's face it, not that important of a research < people being stranded off civilization by predatory ISP's, if not lack of any.
For the article, the way I read it, there isn't a problem currently, and it's not clear whether it will pose a problem in the future, but the alarm bells have already been rung and even if it proves to be true, it doesn't sound like something that more tech couldn't solve - just use different materials and coating or whatever. And I don't see how it's specific to starlink - nobody seems to bat an eye about ozone layer when NASA does ISS resupply missions or when China is blowing up satellites on orbit.
The point of this thread is that Starlink only exists to solve this problem because the ISPs were paid to do it the old fashioned way and decided to fuck off with the cash instead. It wouldn't have solved the RV issue, but if nost rural areas had the cable internet the government bought, then Starlink likely never gets off the ground, pun intended.
This only applies to the US. My point is that by it's nature it is global, and it competes with all the shitty local monopolistic ISP's around the world. Like, I intend to do a cross-country tour around mediterranean next year, and from experience, local cell providers there can be quite a lot of hit and miss. If starlink is activated there by the time I'm all set, I'm dropping the cash, no question about it. And yeah, like @spidermanchild said, I'm just a tech bro nomad cosplaying an explorer, but there are also people actually living in those regions that have to deal with this bullshit. I know it's unpopular opinion but I'd say a push against those local ISP's and getting those rural people a decent internet connection is ultimately doing more good than whatever inconvenience scientists have to deal with scrubbing trails off telescope imagery and filtering out the radio interferences.
You certainly act like a Musk fan.
I also live in a rural RV. I've been stuck in one and using copper wiring since 2004. I don't have the money for Starlink, never have, never will. The upfront cost is insane. I also game on copper wires. Solo and multiplayer games, with my friends over discord.