Photographer Brendan Larsen created a composite image documenting the extent of satellite congestion in Earth’s night sky by capturing 578 photographs over a two-hour period above Mt. Taranaki. According to the source, each eight-second exposure was separated by a two-second gap, allowing the camera to operate continuously throughout the session.
The resulting image displays an estimated 14,450 satellite trail appearances, representing approximately 1,400 individual satellites, according to Larsen’s analysis. However, the capture was only the beginning of the project’s timeline. Larsen spent approximately 45 hours in post-production manually masking every single satellite trail from the original photographs using Adobe Photoshop. The Guardian reports that much of this time involved painstakingly erasing stars from the individual images to reveal the satellites beneath them, with each photograph containing roughly 25 satellites.
Larsen, 51, described the editing process as increasingly rewarding as patterns emerged. “I could start to see the pattern emerging and realised: ‘Wow, this looks really awesome.’ I knew if I carried on it would look even better and more impressive in terms of satellite numbers,” he stated.
The image has prompted reflection from other photography professionals about the implications of satellite proliferation. Photographer Vincent Laforet called Larsen’s work “an important photograph” and described his reaction to recognizing the trails as satellites: “I was initially startled. Then confused. Then fascinated all in quick succession. And then I felt a deep sense of betrayal once I realized that what I was tracking with my eyes were a series of small satellites.”
Laforet further questioned the authorization for such extensive orbital deployment, asking: “Who gave anyone permission do this?” He also noted that satellites had likely interfered with his own long-exposure photography attempts.
The image serves as a visual documentation of how satellite mega-constellations have transformed the night sky, making visible to observers what was previously difficult to comprehend at scale.
Key facts
- Photographer Brendan Larsen captured 578 photographs over two hours above Mt. Taranaki
- The composite image shows approximately 14,450 satellite trail appearances representing roughly 1,400 individual satellites
- Larsen spent 45 hours manually masking satellite trails in Adobe Photoshop
- Each photograph contained approximately 25 satellites
- The project required erasing stars to reveal satellites beneath them in the compositing process