Space Junk 3D Page #3

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Its target? A dead weather satellite...

In less than 24 hours, the

debris encircled the earth,

hovering at the original impact

altitude of over 500 miles,

high enough so that the pieces

won't come down, but low enough

so that they have the potential to affect

almost all other objects in Low-Earth Orbit,

including the

International Space Station.

Today, as the debris cloud keeps

growing, so does our understanding of it.

The majority of debris

from this one event

will remain a hazard in our

skies for centuries to come.

This visualisation shows the

formation of one of the first galaxies,

massive stars filling

the universe with light,

beginning when it was

300 million years old,

and continuing up to its present

age of 13.7 billion years.

It's an awe-inspiring look at

the lifespan of the universe,

with galaxies forming,

and naturally colliding...

Ultimately spinning the massive

thread-like structure of the cosmic web...

At Lowell Observatory, Don Kessler is guided

by Kim Herman, post-doctoral associate.

Arizona's known for

its observatories, and

fortunately very close to

Meteor Crater is Lowell.

All my life I've been

interested in astronomy.

I've visited several

observatories that were designed

for the purpose of looking at

satellites, but never one with astronomy.

Here astronomers are

well-connected to the stars.

Bordered by a ponderosa

pine forest 8,000 feet up,

elevation and absolute

isolation create a pristine sky

for professional and amateur

astronomers of all ages.

The night sky here opens up infinite

possibilities for the naked eye.

Here the sky is so clear

and so dark that we don't

even need telescopes to see

what's going on in the sky.

Eyum is using her smartphone to

stargaze and know what she's looking at.

And over there Saturn

should be coming out.

When I think about Saturn's

beautiful rings, I think of collisions

in space and what earth could look

like millions of years from now.

Overtime, collisions would create more

debris and in turn even more collisions.

Gradually, the debris would shrink in

size and speeds would slow until finally

the Earth would be surrounded

by stable, Saturn-like rings.

When I look at the night sky the

first thing I notice is stars.

The beauty of the

universe is striking to me.

The next thing I'll notice is meteors.

If I see a meteor I feel

like I'm lucky, because that

also reminds me of these

particles passing through space.

Then I may notice something

flickering and moving

and realise that I'm looking at

a satellite orbiting the Earth.

Those satellites are there

because we put them there.

And I may see another one,

travelling in the opposite direction.

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