Thinking through the layers of invisible forces at play in the presence of satellites, the video here brings together:
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- Astronomy sky simulation from Canberra, Stellarium
- Starlink coverage tracker, https://starlink.sx
- Starlink satellite map, https://satellitemap.space
There’s an interesting interplay here between timescales of the natural sky cycle – of the moon passing from east to west in Stellarium view, with the constant hovering of the satellite visualisation.
This combination of sources also layers the celestial labels with the repetition of Starlink ID numbers. The straight dotted lines show gateway connections between satellites, connecting them in constellation-like shapes. The hexagonal shapes indicate internet coverage in the focus area of Canberra/NSW, but in the way I’ve put the video together they become transparent over land, so the outline of the coast, and Tasmania is visible.
Together it feels like a merging of natural and artificial skies and their combined constellations.