October 2026: A Sparkle of Starlinks!, Light Pollution News
This Episode:
It’s another Light Pollution News! This episode, we deconstruct everyone’s favorite satellite constellation, Reflect Orbital, and what it all means for our sense of wonder. The Dark Sky bill in New York stalls out. And what if I told you…maybe you weren’t crazy for thinking some headlights were too bright!
Joining me for this episode is Pittsburgh’s own Diane Turnshek; from Dark Sky New Jersey, Steve Mariconda; and Dark Sky Land’s Gina Pearson!
Let’s kick off this episode of Light Pollution News!
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Host:
Guests:
Diane Turnshek
Diane Turnshek is a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been on the board of directors for both the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and Parsec, Pittsburgh’s premier science fiction organization. She is published in Analog Magazine of Science Fiction and Fact and edited Parsec’s Triangulation anthology multiple times.
Steve Mariconda
Steve Mariconda, MPH, is a DarkSky Delegate and member of the New Jersey chapter. He educates the public about light pollution and responsible lighting practices. He recently received a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Rutgers School of Public Health and is the chair of the Saddle Brook Green Team. He is an outdoors enthusiast and musician.
Gina Pearson
Gina is a retired federal public servant of 40 years, primarily working for the National Park Service as a park ranger, natural resource specialist, planner, and environmental protection specialist. She has years of experience protecting naturally dark night skies with a particular interest in indigenous cultural perspectives. Some of her dark sky work includes developing dark sky park applications for Bryce Canyon National Park and the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, collaborating with National Parks across the nation to mitigate light pollution impacts, translating into Spanish the NPS Jr. Ranger Night Explorer booklet, updating the public facing NPS Night Skies website, coordinating the events for the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse at the BLM Challis Field Office, ID, and serving as the NPS point of contact for the Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative. In retirement she continues to advocate for dark sky protection and restoration efforts, conduct outdoor education and outreach, and improve her photography skills of the earth, sky, and people. Gina is on the advisory committee for STEMarts Lab, on the board for Dark Sky Land, Inc., and a council member for Dark Sky New Mexico Chapter. She is based out of Taos, New Mexico.
Full Article List:
- An Unlikely Coalition Fights to Protect Dark Skies Near San Antonio, Robyn Ross, Texas Monthly.
- “Dark Skies Act” Against Light Pollution in NYC Stalled in State Legislature, Maria Nelli, La Voce Di New York.
- Star Gazing, Stephen P White, The Catholic Thing.
- This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many, Jonathan O’Callaghan, MIT Technology Review.
- More, Brendan Carr, FCC.
- ‘Starwashing’: How space companies use the greenwashing playbook while engaging in environmentally damaging practices, Marissa E. Yingling, The Conversation.
- Carmakers Don’t Think They Should Have to Fix Blindingly Bright Headlights, Adam Ismail, Drive.
- Encapsulated Leptin-Producing Cells Facilitate Entrainment of Circadian Rhythms in Rodents andNonhuman Primates, Advanced Science.
Light Pollution News: October Highlights
Camp Bullis Military Base Joins Conservationists to Protect Dark Skies Near San Antonio
Camp Bullis, a 28,000-acre training site north of San Antonio, depends on dark skies to train combat medics and search and rescue teams in night operations. Suburban sprawl has made the southern half of the base too bright for night-vision training. Richard King, who manages the Pentagon’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program for Joint Base San Antonio, has partnered with the Hill Country Alliance to fight light pollution with lighting rules, conservation easements, and sky-quality monitoring. Texas law limits local lighting regulation but allows lighting rules within five miles of military installations, and the coalition will ask the Legislature in 2027 to expand that buffer zone, backed by its sky-brightness data.
New York’s Dark Skies Protection Act Stalls Amid Misinformation
New York’s Dark Skies Protection Act would have required shielded, responsible outdoor lighting after certain hours starting in January 2028, with exemptions for practical and commercial uses such as Times Square. Media coverage, including the New York Post, falsely claimed the bill would turn off all lights after 11pm. Even sympathetic outlets framed it around “darkness” rather than responsible lighting or pollution, which the host argues left the bill poorly communicated. Both versions are stuck in committee in Albany and would need to be reintroduced in 2027.
Stargazing, Wonder, and Faith: The Catholic Thing on What Light Pollution Takes From Us
Writing in The Catholic Thing, Stephen White argues that the night sky instills wonder, which guards against cynicism and fosters humility and gratitude. He recalls his pastor urging families to take children preparing for First Communion away from Washington, D.C.’s light dome to see the stars.
Reflect Orbital’s Earendil-1 Space Mirror Wins FCC Approval as the FCC Moves to Cut Environmental Review
In July, Reflect Orbital received FCC approval to launch Earendil-1, a test satellite with a 3,500 sq ft reflective mirror designed to beam sunlight onto a target area about three miles wide. Scientists warn the light will spill beyond that area. CEO Ben Nowack calls sunlight “the new oil” and envisions an on-demand service to light solar farms, streets, farms, and construction sites at night. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, meanwhile, planned a September 30 vote to cut environmental rules and exempt many space-based activities from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.
“Starwashing”: How Space Companies Borrow the Greenwashing Playbook
University of Louisville social work professor Marissa Yingling has popularized the term “starwashing.” It describes how companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Reflect Orbital promote humanity’s future in space while downplaying the environmental costs on Earth. The industry is heavily publicly funded: SpaceX and Blue Origin have received roughly $22B to $28B in U.S. government contracts, and Reflect Orbital has received a $1.25M Air Force SBIR grant.
Tesla Ordered to Fix Overly Bright Headlights on Model 3 and Model Y
In 2024, Tesla reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that headlights on about 20,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from model years 2017 through 2023 exceeded federal brightness limits, in some cases by up to double. Tesla asked to be exempted from a recall, arguing the beams were aimed away from drivers’ eyes and that no one had complained. NHTSA rejected the request, so Tesla must now fix the vehicles. General Motors made a similar failed argument earlier over 725,000 GMC Terrain SUVs from 2010 to 2017.
Leptin-Producing Cell Implants Help Mice and Monkeys Recover From Jet Lag Faster
A study in Advanced Science implanted mice and monkeys with encapsulated cells engineered to continuously release leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite and metabolism. Treated mice adjusted to a four-hour schedule shift 25% faster than untreated mice, and monkeys adjusted to a six hour shift a full day sooner, based on body temperature, heart rate, movement, and sleep. The animals showed no major side effects. However, the researchers say the effect appears short-term and its mechanism is unclear, so it is a lead for future circadian research rather than a jet lag cure.
Light Pollution News: October Read Along
It appears that down in the San Antonio area, some people want to stay dark…and it’s not astronomers…it’s not indigenous communities. It’s the US military!
Down in the heart of Texas, in the southern Hill Country, sits Camp Bullis. Bullis sits north of San Antonio by 20 miles. However, since it’s establishment in the early 20th century, the training facility has found itself nearly boxed in by urban sprawl. Bullis, per Texas Monthly, is largely used to train medics and search and rescue teams on how to operate in the dark.
For trainees to have as close to a real world scenario as possible, the ambient light levels must be sufficiently low. Otherwise, it’s impossible for the soldier to discern the area with night vision, a fact that, per the article, is already occurring on the southern side of the facility. The southern end was described as persistent nautical twilight. So the military, rather Richard King, a retired vet and combat-medic instructor, has found himself working alongside the Hill Country Alliance.
The program derives from a 2002 Pentagon initiative that, at a high level, seeks to achieve goals both for the surrounding community and for the base. It’s called the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, which among other things, cuts down on bases’ own light pollution to their neighbors.
Now, Texas is an odd place in terms of how they regulate outdoor lighting. On the whole, as I understand it, bear in mind, I’m not from Texas. Been there, it’s a nice place, but I am not a Texan – just in case you were confused by my accent. As of House Bill 2439 passed in 2019, local communities were essentially stripped of their ability to regulate building codes, which includes lighting. Now, since then, there have been carve outs. However, these carve outs are very specific and they include things like Dark Sky designations and military buffer zones.
The current legal military buffer zone allows for local lighting policies within 5 miles of the facility. However, both the base and the Hill Country Alliance now deem that as insufficient, backing these assertions up with actual sky-quality data. The team is looking to expand the buffer zone past that 5 mile limit, which, unfortunately, will be something they need to take up in Austin in 2027.
I will also mention that the team down at Camp Bullis is also utilizing conservation easements to protect areas from development.
Since we’re in this policy landscape, you may recall that New York a state level bill that attempted to rein in the ever bright nighttime sky. The Dark Skies Protection Act, as previously mentioned on this show, was an interesting bill. It didn’t rely on measurements, rather it was, barring some practical exemptions and some commercial exemptions (think Times Square), a first jab at trying to promote responsible fixtures. The bill essentially required shielding to maintain lights after a certain hour. It would go into effect in January of 2028.
However, there was widespread misinformation driven from various media outlets across the Empire State. These media outlets claimed that the state would turn off all lights after 11pm. They called the bill “insane”. And these outlets, essentially, muddied the water with, in my most generous and ambiguous phrasing – the muse of those who lack reading comprehension.
And it dawned on me, that beyond the forces who are actively making money on misinformation, this bill’s been a debacle because it doesn’t seem like anyone can effectively communicate it. Take a ‘Secret NYC’ article summarizing the bill. The article uses the word “dark” in various invocations 10 times, it uses “pollution” only twice, and not once do they use “responsible”. Now, I’m not saying that this bill is perfect. I have my own concerns over this bill. However, the failure to adequately talk to your audience doesn’t score you points, especially when it includes the largest and densest metro region in the whole country!
Versions of the bill are currently stuck in committee in both houses in Albany and would require reintroduction in 2027.
My astronomy club just celebrated its 50th Anniversary. It’s a club that I’m very proud to be part of. As a group, I think it’s fair to say that most of us have formed close knit friendships centered on the spirit of astronomy.
When you start out on any hobby, I think there’s a particular fascination with the unknown. That IS the allure of that hobby. I got to say, I rekindled a little of that fascination as the luncheon started to walk back through time.
One of the things that has always drawn me to the skies at night was this intense fascination with what could be, what’s out there beyond what us humans mold to our will. Kind of a reminder, perhaps a reassurance of whatever we do on Earth, positive or negative, the universe won’t bat an eye because this one planet is so infinitesimally small compared to what you see at night.
I am going somewhere with this, I promise!
It’s not often, but every few months or so, we have some religious news that crosses into our orbit. I have yet to bring on anyone who can represent the religious impacts of light pollution, not because I haven’t tried. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t going to work.
There is this wonderful piece from the Catholic Thing, whereby it speaks to that very wonder. In the piece, author Stephen White tells a story of his father’s fascination with the night sky, recounting how they purchased a telescope that was wholly overpowered for the moon observing they routinely did. White’s thesis, though, is this idea of wonder.
Per White, “Wonder is not, strictly speaking, a virtue. But it does inoculate the soul against cynicism. Wonder begets humility and gratitude.” White goes on to say that until recently, wonder driven by the stars was a daily thing. And he touches on something that I’ve implied for a long time.
Per White, “It would be simplistic to suggest that our modern world has forgotten its Creator because the stars don’t shine so clearly as they once did…”
In many parts of the world, rural areas are more conservative than urban areas, and part of that means they tend to hold to traditional values, often keeping closer in line with religion. I’ve always postulated that this is, in part, due to the fact that they have this daily reminder of ‘wonder,’ be it from the night skies above or from the more natural landscapes they live in.
White mentions that his pastor actually asked the parents of children whom were about to receive first communion to take their children away from the light dome of DC to a place where they could see the stars to instill gratitude and wonder.
This all leads me to a topic that has been soul crushing for all of 2026, and that is the endless onslaught of satellite pollution, including this idea of space mirrors. Perhaps nothing can cast wonder into doubt more than the closed minded need for permanent daytime.
The start up, Reflect Orbital, whom by now all of you have surely become familiar with. I’m sure the company embodies your deepest nightmares. In July, they celebrated the FCC approval of the Earendil-1 launch, to which, apparently there’s some JRR Tolkien fetish going around Silicon Valley as naming everything after objects in Tolkien’s universe is the thing. Not sure why, it’s a bit strange honestly.
Anyway, the satellite they will be launching is a test satellite which will be 3500 sq ft when unfurled. That would make it one of the largest, if not, the largest satellite in space currently. The idea would be to illuminate a 3 mile target area. However, there is conjecture among scientists that this will impact beyond 3 miles.
Ben Nowack, the CEO of Reflect Orbital, really thinks highly of his product, calling sunlight the new oil. His plans, which sound more like a brainstorming session by a group of undergrads, include everything from power solar farms, to making “safer, evenly-lit streets”, whatever the hell that means, to lighting farms and construction sites, I guess under the very day walker bias that plants don’t benefit from darkness.
Essentially, the plan is trying to create an on demand or subscription based service to light up any 3+ miles you want!
If any of you at home had hope that by some strange ray of reflected light, the Trump administration would intervene to create a responsible policy, well, you my friend picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue. The agency plans to reform its environmental regulations at its September 30th meeting (which will have occurred by the time we have released this episode).
Along the same lines here, Marissa Yingling, an associate professor of social work at Louisville, recently popularized the phrase, ‘starwashing.’ Starwashing, the space economy’s equivalent to greenwashing, is when companies like Blue Origin, Reflect Orbital, and Space X appeal to the potential of humanity beyond the confines of Earth but omit the costs of obtaining these advances here on Earth.
For the record, the US government has spent in the range of $22B – $28B on SpaceX and Blue Origin, with Reflect Orbital only receiving a $1.25M Air Force grant. As far as SpaceX goes, government contracts still make up 35-40% of its total revenue.
Well, I have good news. You might not be crazy! Headlights have gotten brighter. And evidently, Tesla has been involved, at least partly, in making oncoming drivers squint!
In 2024, Tesla notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of bright headlights on 20,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars. They apparently exceeded maximum legal brightness by upwards of double the lumens! So, rather than handle the issue themselves, they fought for an appeal to not recall these vehicles.
Tesla argued that the headlights were positioned in a way that it would keep the direct light out of drivers’ eyes. Tesla also seriously made the argument that, ‘hey, since no one complained about these, we’re cool, right?’ To which the government two years later said, ‘no, we’re not cool.’ Tesla will now be on the hook to fix these vehicles which seven model years from 2017 through 2023.
And according to the Drive, General Motors tried to do the exact same thing two years earlier for 725,000 of their 2010 – 2017 Terrain SUVs. GM failed, then, as well.
Now, I want to level set, Tesla sells around 175k Model 3s each year. This affected cars sold between 2017 to 2023, which would make this problem population a very small fraction of the total cars on the road.
Lastly, what if there was a way to beat jet lag? Wouldn’t that be great? A team released a study in Advanced Science that injected mice and monkeys with encapsulated cells that were designed to continuously produce a hormone called leptin. Leptin regulates appetite and metabolism. The study injected these engineered cells into an experimental group of mice that experienced a 4 hour schedule shift. Then, they did the same for a group of monkeys experiencing a 6 hour shift.
The treated mice adjusted to the schedule change 25% faster than untreated mice. The monkeys adjusted a full day faster. Animals had body temperature, heart rate, movements and sleep quality assessed for circadian alignment. The study notes that the animals appeared to suffer no major negative side effects.
Two caveats for this one, this appears to be a short term solution. The study also stresses that they are not fully certain why the mechanics of this test worked. Therefore, it’s not billed to be a solution at this time for jet lag, but it holds potential clues for further research.
