{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":20313,"platform":"mastodon","region":"global","key":"\"'they're saying we want to launch 50,000 mirrors by 2035,' benvenuti said. 'that would be catastrophic for astronomy, t","title":"\"'They're saying we want to launch 50,000 mirrors by 2035,' Benvenuti said. 'That would be catastrophic for astronomy, t","url":"https://scicomm.xyz/@JohnBarentine/117011227028384086","first_seen":"2026-09-26T20:11:50.383763Z","last_seen":"2026-09-27T05:45:36.446488Z","last_rank":3,"peak_rank":3,"last_volume":100,"peak_volume":100,"seen_count":8,"score":92.25,"category_hint":"space_policy","section":"science","category":"space_policy","summary":"US regulators have granted approval to Reflect Orbital, a company planning to launch tens of thousands of orbiting mirrors that would reflect sunlight to Earth at night, marketed as 'sunlight as a service'. Astronomers are alarmed, with researcher Benvenuti warning the goal of 50,000 mirrors in orbit by 2035 would be catastrophic for astronomy by brightening the night sky and disrupting observations.","why":"The FCC's approval of Reflect Orbital has reignited concern among astronomers about light pollution and the commercialisation of the night sky.","tone":"negative","entities":["Reflect Orbital","FCC","Benvenuti"],"summarized_at":"2026-09-27T02:13:45.051302Z","meta":{"tag":"spacepolicy","via":"scan","kind":"status","lang":"en","generic":0.17,"instance":"mastodon.social","tag_uses":0},"nw":0.78,"promo":0.02,"kind":"news_event","importance":1.85,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":"2026-09-26T20:11:50.713193Z","title_en":"Astronomers warn plan for 50,000 orbital mirrors would be catastrophic","section_name":"Science","category_name":"Space Policy","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-09-26T20:11:50.383763Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-26T21:33:36.889206Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-26T22:55:36.732388Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-27T00:17:37.134479Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-27T01:39:36.562948Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-27T03:01:36.934334Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-27T04:23:36.473320Z","rank":3,"volume":100},{"captured_at":"2026-09-27T05:45:36.446488Z","rank":3,"volume":100}],"posts":[{"platform":"mastodon","url":"https://scicomm.xyz/@JohnBarentine/117011227028384086","author":"JohnBarentine@scicomm.xyz","title":null,"snippet":"\"'They're saying we want to launch 50,000 mirrors by 2035,' Benvenuti said. 'That would be catastrophic for astronomy, that is clear.'\" https://www. cbc.ca/news/science/reflect-or bital-approval-fcc-9.7287535 # Astronomy # ReflectOrbital # SunlightAsAService # FCC # SpacePolicy","posted_at":"2026-07-30T22:13:51Z","likes":100}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}