Orbital smashups cause tiny pieces of space junk to emit signals that could be detected from Earth, a new study has found.
Space junk is a growing problem. As of November 2023, the world's space surveillance networks were tracking about 35,610 pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the European Space Agency (ESA). That stuff is old satellites, used rocket stages and fragments spawned in orbital collisions and explosions.
