P Longa-Pena, J. Tregloan-Reed, C Adam, J Chamoun-Contreras, E. Unda-Sanzana, C Avalos-Vega, F. Amadio, M. Andersen, M. Bonavita, V. Bozza, B. Campos Estrada, M. Dominik, A. Donaldson, R. Figuera Jaimes, J. P. U. Fynbo, T. C. Hinse, M. Hundertmark, U. G. Jørgensen, E. Khalouei, M. Kretlow, V Molina, N. Peixinho, M. Rabus, S. Rahvar, A Rajkumar, M Romero-Colmenares, P. Rota, S. Sajadian, J. Skottfelt, C. Snodgrass, J. Southworth, H Alarcon, G Blanc, P Bocaz, J Colque, J Cortes, C. Flores-Quintana, P. Garcia, R Gonzalez, S. Kim, S. Martin, T Nakos, E Ortiz, A. Otarola, J Hernandez, P Sanhueza, G Siringo, M. G. Soto
Abstract
We report a multi-epoch V-band campaign (2021─2023) with uniform processing and a common $550\,\mathrm{ km}$ normalization across Starlink generations. Median magnitudes (68 per cent confidence intervals; N in brackets) are: v1.0: 5.365, [5.084, 5.553] (34), Gen-2: 6.012, [5.801, 6.173] (6), v1.5: 6.106, [6.065, 6.154] (164), VisorSat: 6.618, [6.403, 6.804] (54), DarkSat: 8.431, [5.916, 10.947] (2). This yields the ordering $v1.0 \lt \mathrm{Gen\mbox{-}2} \lesssim v1.5 \lt \mathrm{VisorSat} \ll \mathrm{DarkSat}$, i.e. mitigation-era designs are typically fainter than the original v1.0. The Gen-2 ─ v1.5 difference is small (0.094 mag) and Gen-2 has limited coverage ($N=6$), so the trend is not strictly monotonic. We use an open, PYTHON-based processing pipeline built on ASTROPY for standard image calibration (bias, dark and flat-field correction), astrometric and photometric calibration against Gaia DR3, and derivation of the viewing geometry (solar phase angle, range, elongation, and airmass). Satellite tracks are identified from TLE-based ephemerides, matched to the detections, and then used to measure a brightness value for each track in a reproducible way. At a common height, the medians are 5.37 (v1.0), 6.01 (Gen-2), 6.11 (v1.5), 6.62 (VisorSat), and 8.43 (DarkSat; $N=2$), which are $\sim$0.4─1.6 mag brighter (numerically smaller) than the target of $V\approx 7$. Thus, mitigation shows clear progress but does not yet meet the IAU CPS/SATCON goal of $V\ge 7$ at ${\sim} 550\,\mathrm{km}$. These benchmarks can guide future satellite designs, survey planning and avoidance strategies, with the main uncertainties arising from the very small samples for DarkSat and Gen-2.
Keywords
light pollution / methods: data analysis / methods: observational / space vehicles / techniques: photometric / surveys
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume 548, Issue stag552, Page 10
2026 May
