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.
Aliens: we come in peace
Scientists: can you help us with some of our problems? Maybe give us fusion power? Tell us about your culture?
Aliens: actually we came about the Coca-Cola.
If they block my stars I will go full terrorist.
They bomb kids daily and you’re complacent, you’re telling me if they added more ads you’re gonna finally revolt?
I don’t buy it.
they only bomb kids in far-away lands, it’s abstract and easily put aside for most people.
i’m sure op is exaggerating but people not doing anything about genocide in gaza/lebanon but going on strike over e.g. gas prices is kinda expected human behavior sadly
Suggestion: Deploy anti satellite 🛰 weapon, and extort other nations by threatening their satellites in order to pay off the national debt. Somebody get Donald Trump on the phone.
I’m only half joking. Kessler syndrome is probably going to happen sooner or later anyway. And I do think it would be possible to convince Trump the scheme is a good idea if you had access to him.
And just like AI, everyone will agree before the technology is mature. And then someone will make a breakthrough and find it’s possible and then the government will fold without even firing a shot and suddenly you’ll see ads all over the sky even though 99% of the population doesn’t fucking want it.
Anyone read Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “Watch This Space” where a giant Coke logo is lit up on the moon? It was meant to be funny, not instructional. Sigh. “Torment Nexus” and all that, I suppose.
It would probably work better as a weapon against companies on the ground than as what is intended. Advertise for a company and piss people off so they boycott or harm the company instead of buying stuff from them
we dont matter though, it’ll impress investors and the media, that’s what matters these days
we are just slaves, until we organize we have no power
The day the night sky fills with billboards is the day I switch from “I really hope we as a species can get better” to “I really hope we as a species become extinct soon.”
Its already at a point where I can’t take a long exposure without a dozen spacex satellites and other junk zooming through my frame. Light pollution is already at a tipping point where no stars are visible in or around large cities.
Support your local amateur astronomer club. Support the dark skies association.
Imagine being born under an off-brand star.
Worry not astronomers! AI space tech companies are already working hard on telescopes on moon which you can access via a monthly subscription! Hurray! /s
Please God no. This timeline is fucking horrible.
Is it time for molotovs yet?
I would say it’s long past time. Just waiting until ice kicks down my door and shoots my cats and puts a bag over my head with this post.
Oh please, y’all would talk about molotoves and guillotines everyday, yet none of you would do a thing.
Wild that you went from suggesting scalping to accusing others of incapacity for violence. When’s the last time you scalped someone, or were at least present when someone was scalped?
But seriously, don’t answer that. Admissions of arson and interpersonal violence don’t mean much anonymously online unless you bring receipts, but as anonymity isn’t actually anonymous, so dropping a Greatest Hits of crimes the state couldn’t prove at the time for clout is ill advised.
So… yes?
they shouldn’t seek a global ban on it?
I can see how my statement might have been a little confusing. I would absolutely love to see a global ban of advertising in space coupled with rockets that automatically fire and take out any space billboards that are snuck up there.
I will not buy anything from any company that puts advertising in space. I will also make it my life’s work to persuade everyone else likewise.
We’re 43 people already, the remaining 95% will continue to buy it anyway because…
- It just tastes better
- It can’t be that bad
- It’s convenient
- I’ve always bought that
- I have nothing to hide
Pick as many as you like. More than just dissuading people, I think it’s high time to sabotage and destruct.
These are exactly the reasons why people are still not boycotting Nestlé.
TIL 43 people are 5% of the world population…
Also, how do you plan to sabotage space billboards?
Well, you wouldn’t sabotage the billboard. You would sabotage their factories until it costs them more than the billboard makes them. Make it unprofitable to create them.
The same way they’re planning to upload new ads.
Wahoo! 🔧💚🪠
I’ll try spinning, that’s a good trick!
Or his dataset consists of 860 people and only 43 said they’d boycott it.
If so, that context was missing from their comment
Agreed.
It’s about time.
Although honestly, with this government, all this might do is give them ideas…
They should add to it though. No construction projects or any commercial activity on the near-side of the moon.
If I see your shit advertised in space I will never buy your product again.
Hell yeah.
This is exactly like skywriting.
Once it got popular it got really popular for advertising, then people got mad and it was an affront to God and legislators were forced to shut it down.
But also, after the novelty it stopped being effective and it just made people angry.
Now, arguably 2026’s companies care less about making people mad than any time since like the coal wars. But I still think you can’t keep posting people off forever and expect good brand outcomes. And if you can, you don’t need ads do you?
the coal wars
As an aside, it just made me a little happy to know that there’s at least one other person out in the world that’s read a history book at some point.
It doesn’t but I mean in a corporations not feeding any consequence way.
Obviously ads are not like company towns or the coal union suppression.
But I do think corporations were only more hostile to people in that era. And modern companies have zero fear of repercussions, because they face none.
Yeah, well.
Unfortunately it’s a deliberately untaught period in our history, so the vast majority of Americans have never heard of it and probably can’t conceive of literally going to war against corporations, so it makes me happy whenever I come across someone who’s aware of it.
