Extensive Mapping of Earth's Concealed Atmospheric Layer via 1,200 Satellites

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Researchers have utilized approximately 1,200 Starlink satellites as a unified tool to investigate a section of the atmosphere that is notoriously difficult to study. The thermosphere constitutes over 99 percent of the upper atmosphere of Earth, yet it is significantly more challenging to quantify compared to the thinner ionosphere that lies above. A team from Kyoto University employed tomography—a method used in medical imaging—to analyze publicly accessible orbital data, observing how satellite trajectories diminish due to atmospheric resistance at an altitude of 482 kilometers. This effort has produced the inaugural two-dimensional representation of thermospheric density near 500 kilometers, corroborating findings from the European Space Agency's SWARM satellites and offering enhanced capabilities for space weather prediction.  Disclosure: This video contains stock footage and content created or enhanced using Al-assisted tools. ai-generated

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00:00Researchers turned roughly 1,200 Starlink satellites into a single giant scanner

00:05for a layer of atmosphere almost nobody can measure.

00:09The thermosphere makes up more than 99% of Earth's upper atmosphere.

00:14Stretching from about 100 to 1,000 kilometers up,

00:17the ionized gas of the ionosphere accounts for less than 1%,

00:22and because it affects how radio waves travel, it is relatively easy to observe.

00:27The thermosphere is not.

00:28A team at Kyoto University applied tomography,

00:32the technique behind medical imaging,

00:34to publicly available Starlink orbital data

00:37by measuring how satellite orbits gradually decay from atmospheric drag at 482 kilometers.

00:44They built the first two-dimensional map of thermospheric density at around 500 kilometers.

00:50The results matched readings from the European Space Agency's swarm satellites.

00:54Better density data means better satellite tracking,

00:57fewer collisions,

00:59and sharper space weather forecasting.

01:02Disclosure.

01:02This video contains stock footage and content created or enhanced using AI-assisted tools.

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