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Google begins launching Internet-beaming balloons

  • 20-06-2013 8:32am
    #1
    Tomk1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 776 ✭✭✭


    No idea where to post this as space & tech related:
    http://news.yahoo.com/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons-031644286.html
    Sounds like an April fools but it's not
    Each balloon would provide Internet service for an area twice the size of New York City
    As title say Google launches high altitude helium balloons into stratosphere to beam internet to areas without the web, tests carried out in New Zealand with aim of a fast way of restoring internet after a disaster then to cover the most of the globe with these communication balloons.
    Later this year, Google hopes to have as many as 300 of them circling the globe continuously along the 40th parallel, on a path that takes them over New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Argentina.

    I'm just wondering will this impact on clear-skys, many observatories are in Chile, and if this takes off (/pun) will this effect garden-astronomers.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    Prodigious
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,827 ✭✭✭Prodigious


    They're secretly cameras so the NSA can spy on us even more.


  • #3
    yeppydeppy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭yeppydeppy


    You don't do much astronomy do you OP? Nor do I, but I'm sure they would be mere dots in the sky and would have zero impact. As small as the earth is in comparison to the rest of the universe it's still quite big relative to these.


  • #4
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    yeppydeppy wrote: »
    I'm sure they would be mere dots in the sky and would have zero impact. As small as the earth is in comparison to the rest of the universe it's still quite big relative to these.
    There is the little niggle that they could completely screw up radio astronomy if there is significant out of band emissions.

    http://www.irasr.aut.ac.nz/ - Warkworth Radio Astronomical Observatory,
    http://www.ska.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx - Square Kilometre Array


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