AST SpaceMobile Confirms 4G Capabilities to Everyday Smartphones Directly From Space: https://parabolicarc.com/2023/06/21/space-spac-index-spacemobile-confirms-4g-signal-delivery-smartphones/ - the #BlueWalker 3 low Earth orbit satellite communicated with everyday smartphones reaching initial download speeds above 10 Mbps during Hawaii testing.

The launch of the first commercial satellites in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation has slipped into 2024 - these satellites, known as Block 1, are now slated to launch in the first quarter of 2024 to low Earth orbit. The Block 1 satellites are 50% smaller than originally planned to speed up development, about the same size and weight as the company’s 1,500-kilogram #BlueWalker-3 prototype satellite that launched last November: https://spacenews.com/ast-spacemobile-discloses-further-satellite-delays-and-cost-increases/

The #BlueWalker-3 satellite, @AST_SpaceMobile's prototype sat for direct cell phone communication, passing over my house in Leiden, the Netherlands earlier this evening, at mag +1.5.
Canon EOS 80D + Samyang 1.4/35 mm at F2, exposure 2 seconds, 800 ISO.
@IAU_CPS @Tregloan_Reed

Observations of #BlueWalker 3 (BW3) beginning on December 8 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. The amount of fading was up to 4 magnitudes. Satellite operators and astronomers can jointly address the adverse impact of bright satellites on celestial observations based on this finding: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.01601

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. The amount of fading was up to 4 magnitudes. Satellite operators and astronomers can jointly address the adverse impact of bright satellites on celestial observations based on this finding: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.01601

Here's little #python utility if one needs to get #ruuvitag or #xiaomi #bluetooth temperature sensors to graphs. It picks up the values from #bluewalker and forwards them to #MQTT and #influxdb for #HomeAssistant and #grafana. #HomeAutomation
https://github.com/ikke-t/measurements_to_influx_mqtt

Voor de ochtendploeg.
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RT @Marco_Langbroek
Video of a pass of the #Bluewalker 3 satellite, filmed this evening from Leiden, the Netherlands:
https://vimeo.com/779437239
Photometric data:
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2022/0021.html
@IAU_CPS
https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1601008427626438657

Video of a pass of the #Bluewalker 3 satellite, filmed this evening from Leiden, the Netherlands:
https://vimeo.com/779437239
Photometric data:
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2022/0021.html
@IAU_CPS

And here is how #nodered reads the #ruuvitag #mijia sensor data from #bluewalker socket and sends it to #influxdb. Other branch below sends it to #homeassistant #mqtt.

@janik6n ei ole. Kuuntelen niitä raspilla #bluewalker softalla, ja laitan eteenpäin sitten talteen #influxdb ja jakoon #mqtt:nä. Ei ole ollut tarvetta, oli toi jo ennen ko. gatewaytä. Lisäsin tähän tuen myös mijia laitteille: https://gitlab.com/jtaimisto/bluewalker

finally, the correct way to reformat #ruuvitag and #mijia devices output from #bluewalker socket to #influxdb using #nodered.

Astronomers say a new, huge satellite is as bright as the brightest stars - Enlarge / Observation of a BlueWalker 3 pass from Oukaimeden Observator... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1901197 #bluewalker #astronomy #science #space #ast

The #IAU Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference expresses concern about the recently launched prototype #BlueWalker 3 satellite’s impact on astronomy. New measurements reveal that this low Earth orbiting satellite is now one of the brightest objects in the night sky, outshining all but the brightest stars. In addition, the satellite’s use of terrestrial radio frequencies poses a new challenge to radio astronomy: https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau2211/

RT @cosmos4u@twitter.com

Just observed the dreaded #BlueWalker 3 satellite - https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09811 - for the first time during the 'good' pass https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?&satid=53807&mjd=59909.7451026624 over Bochum, Germany: when it marched close to low Altair (+0.8 mag.) it was a bit fainter but rising higher it became about as bright.

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/cosmos4u/status/1596565013598113792

Just observed the dreaded #BlueWalker 3 satellite - https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09811 - for the first time during the 'good' pass https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?&satid=53807&mjd=59909.7451026624 over Bochum, Germany: when it marched close to low Altair (+0.8 mag.) it was a bit fainter but rising higher it became about as bright as this star. Beware: patchy cloudiness made serious photometry impossible. But yes, this 64 square meter monster *is* obnoxiously bright in even partly cloudy urban skies. And they want 100+ and bigger satellites ... 😟

Some of the science on #Bluewalker's optical impact on the night sky is now being published.

Full paper here (no paywall):
https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09811

RT @cosmos4u@twitter.com

Visual Magnitude of the #BlueWalker 3 Satellite: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09811 - the average visual magnitude when seen overhead at the beginning or ending of astronomical twilight is found to be 1.5.

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/cosmos4u/status/1594521361808072706

Visual Magnitude of the #BlueWalker 3 Satellite - observations have been carried out in order to assess the optical characteristics of the BlueWalker 3 spacecraft, the illumination phase function has been determined and evaluated, and the average visual magnitude when seen overhead at the beginning or ending of astronomical twilight is found to be 1.5: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.09811

This thing (#BlueWalker-3) will completely kill the #night #sky ! This #Starlink-like #spacecraft has already been reported with a magnitude down to +1, but can potentially be seen as bright as Venus.

The company behind, #AST space mobile, plan to launch another mega constellation, with 110 of them 🤬

#RIP the night sky, ground-based #astronomy, #astrophysics, night #photography, @VRubinObs, etc… 😡

Read more https://www.universetoday.com/158625/bluewalker-3-unfolds-brightens-one-hundredfold/