Satellite impact on astronomical observations based on the elliptical orbit model

¹ Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210042, PR China
e-mail: yzh@niaot.ac.cn; xcui@niaot.ac.cn
² CAS Key Laboratory of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, Nanjing 210042, PR China
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
⁴ National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China

Received: 21 December 2023
Accepted: 10 May 2024

Abstract

Space-based and ground-based telescopes have extensively documented the impact of satellites on astronomical observations. With the proliferation of satellite mega-constellation programmes, their influence on astronomical observations has become undeniable. Quantifying the impact of satellites on telescopes is crucial. To this end, we enhanced the circular orbit model for satellites and introduced a methodology based on two-line element orbit data. This involves constructing a satellite probability distribution model to evaluate the impact of satellites on telescopes. Using our method, we assessed the satellite impact on global grounded observatories. Our results indicate that the regions most severely affected by satellite interference at present are those near the equator, with latitudes of around ±50 and ±80 degrees experiencing the most significant impact from low-Earth-orbit satellites. Furthermore, we validated the reliability of our method using imaging data obtained from the focal surface acquisition camera of the LAMOST telescope.