Brightness evolution of LEO Starlink mega-constellation satellites from 2021 to 2023: a multiyear ground-based photometric study
Journal
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Date Issued
2026-05
Author(s)
Longa-Pena, P.
Tregloan-Reed, J.
Adam, C.
Chamoun-Contreras, J.
Unda-Sanzana, E.
Avalos-Vega, C.
Amadio, F.
Andersen, M.
Bonavita, M.
Bozza, V
Estrada, B. Campos
Dominik, M.
Donaldson, A.
Jaimes, R. Figuera
Fynbo, J.
Hinse, T. C.
Hundertmark, M.
Jorgensen, U. G.
Khalouei, E.
Kretlow, M.
Molina, V
Peixinho, N.
Rabus, M.
Rahvar, S.
Rajkumar, A. R.
Romero-Colmenares, M., I
Rota, P.
Sajadian, S.
Skottfelt, J.
Snodgrass, C.
Southworth, J.
Alarcon, H.
Blanc, G.
Bocaz, P.
Colque, J. P.
Cortes, J.
Quintana, C. Flores
Garcia, P.
Gonzalez, R.
Kim, S.
Martin, S.
Nakos, T.
Ortiz, E.
Otarola, A.
Hernandez, J. Plaza
Sanhueza, P.
Siringo, G.
Abstract
We report a multi-epoch V-band campaign (2021-2023) with uniform processing and a common 550 km normalization across Starlink generations. Median magnitudes (68 percent 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 v 1 . 0 = 7 at similar to 550 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."