The night sky could get three times brighter as new satellites launch — all but ruining the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's survey of the universe

A series of gray squares with white dots and streaks across them.

Ultrabright satellite constellations planned to launch in the next decade could make the sky three times brighter, threatening to ruin all-sky surveys like those planned for the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a new study warns. To prevent this, satellite operators will have to follow strict size and brightness restrictions, according to the study, which was uploaded to the preprint server arXiv but has not been peer-reviewed.

Thousands of satellites hover over much of Earth today in vast constellations, and countless more are on the way. These satellites are already vexing astronomers, mainly by photobombing images of the sky.