APOD: 2022 June 14 - Satellites Behind Pinnacles

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the June 14th Flag Day edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Satellites Behind Pinnacles." We are off to the Land Down Under today for a look at the night sky from Nambung National Park in Western Australia. The park is about two hours north of Perth. The Pinnacles are believed to have been formed 25,000 to 30,000 years ago as the sea receded, leaving deposits of sea shells. Wind and time removed any surrounding sand, exposing these shell 'pillars' to the elements. They remind me of smaller versions of hoodoos like we see in the western United States.

Perhaps more remarkable than The Pinnacles is the amount of satellite traffic passing overhead. This composite image was produced from a series of exposures taken over two hours. A substantial number of the tracks are likely due to Elon Musk's Starlink communications satellites. Regardless of who's the owner, there's a lot of hardware up there.