July 6, 2026
Paint It Black... in space
Study: ultra-black coating could reduce satellite light pollution
Space sunscreen or orbital oven? Commenters are already fighting about painting satellites black
TLDR: Researchers say an ultra-black coating could make satellites much dimmer, helping protect the night sky from bright streaks that disrupt astronomy. But commenters immediately split over whether this is a smart fix, a heat-management nightmare, or just the latest weird chapter in the long-running Vantablack drama.
Scientists say a super-dark paint called Vantablack 310 might help dim shiny satellites that currently photobomb the night sky with bright streaks, making it harder for astronomers to spot faint things like asteroids and distant galaxies. In lab tests and simulations, the coating made satellite surfaces much less visible, and an actual space test is now planned on a student-led CubeSat. Sounds like a win, right? Not so fast, says the comment section.
The biggest split was between the "finally, do something about light pollution" crowd and the "this could create a whole new problem" skeptics. One commenter was annoyed by the careful headline language, basically asking why science news always says something could help instead of just saying whether it works. Another raised a wonderfully spooky image: if satellites stop reflecting light, would astronomers just get fast-moving black spots sliding across stars like tiny space eclipses? And then came the industry reality check: one self-identified expert warned that making satellites black could turn them into heat traps, adding extra cooling headaches, weight, and cost.
Meanwhile, the funniest detour was the community instantly resurrecting the Vantablack art feud—yes, the legendary drama involving artist Anish Kapoor and rival blackest-black seller Stuart Semple. So while researchers are trying to save the stars, the crowd is serving a mix of policy activism via DarkSky, engineering skepticism, and elite art-world pettiness. Honestly? The comments were darker than the paint
Key Points
- •A study in *Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society* evaluated Vantablack 310 as a way to reduce satellite light pollution.
- •The researchers measured the coating's reflectance in laboratory conditions and simulated how coated satellite surfaces would appear from the ground.
- •The simulations found that coated surfaces could become significantly fainter, approaching the International Astronomical Union's recommended brightness limit.
- •Vantablack 310 reflects about two per cent of incoming light and spreads that reflected light more diffusely, reducing bright flashes.
- •An in-orbit demonstration is being prepared on the Jovian-1 CubeSat mission involving the universities of Surrey, Portsmouth, and Southampton.