Astronomers are calling on nations to ban advertising in space that can be seen from the ground, calling it the latest threat to the dark and quiet sky.

WASHINGTON — Astronomers are calling on nations to ban advertising in space that can be seen from the ground, calling it the latest threat to the dark and quiet sky.

At a briefing during the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society earlier this month, the organization rolled out a statement calling for bans on “obtrusive space advertising” because of the interference it could cause for groundbased astronomy.

Obtrusive space advertising is defined in U.S. federal law as “advertising in outer space that is capable of being recognized by a human being on the surface of the Earth without the aid of a telescope or other technological device.” Such advertising is banned in federal law through prohibitions on granting launch licenses for missions carrying payloads to carry out space advertising.

  • yesman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    71·
    17 hours ago

    If we ban space advertising, then only criminals will be able to advertise in space.

    What we need to fight bad advertisers in space is good advertisers in space.

    This could be solved if we only allowed astronauts to conceal-carry ad-copy.

    (I like to use gun arguments out of context, because it emphasizes how dumb they are.)

    • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      21·
      15 hours ago

      Conservatives watch too many westerns, where the good guy defeats the bad guy in a standoff.

      This is completely unrealistic though, because a “bad guy with a gun” would just show up and start shooting before anyone even knows he has a gun. And by the time the good guy gets there, dozens of people would already be dead.

      Also “good guy with a gun” reeks of vigilantism and copaganda. “Oh, thank god the sheriff is here to save the day! Oh… oh wait he’s just gonna abuse the laborers and move on, without bothering the evil mining baron who works them to death with impunity? OH GOD THEY’RE SHAKING HANDS! OH. OH NO. THE HUMANITY!!!”

      Not to mention the casual racism that isn’t even subtle. “Those injuns live right over on the other side of that ridge! We gotta put a posse together to go kill their men and enslave their women and children.”

      “Ahh, so these are the bad guys. When are the heroes going to show up to stop them?” … “Ohh noo, these are the “heroes”… 😫”