THE RECENTLY LAUNCHED prototype of a satellite constellation, named BiueWalker 3, brightened significantly as it unfolded its giant flat-panel antenna array.
AS&T readers and others recorded the brightness of BlueWalker 3 before and after unfolding. Early results indicate that the satellite in its folded-up configuration was relatively faint, with magnitudes between 4 and 8, depending on the distance to the satellite as well as its illumination by the Sun.
But on the morning of November 11, Scott Harrington and Paul Maleya reported that the satellite had suddenly brightened to magnitude 1.5 and 1.0, respectively. Harrington and Maley made additional observations through to November 14; Richard Cole processed much of the data. Post-deployment magnitudes range from 4 to 0. The panel's deployment thus resulted in about a 4-magnitude change, becoming 40 times brighter…
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Australian Sky & Telescope (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2023