A city in China is planning to launch an
‘artificial
moon’ that will light up the skies as far as 50
miles
around.

The so-called illumination satellite set to
deploy
over the southwestern city of Chengdu in 2020
is
touted to be eight times as bright as the real
moon,
to cast a ‘dusk-like glow’ over the region
Officials have released few details on the
project,
but say the idea pulls inspiration from a French
artist who envisioned a necklace of mirrors
hanging
over Earth.

Wu Chunfend, chairman of Chengdu
Aerospace
Science and Technology Microelectronics
System
Research Institute Co., Ltd, revealed the plan
at an
event in the city on Oct 10.
It will complement the moon to make Chengu’s
night skies brighter when it launches in 2020,
potentially serving as a replacement to
conventional
streetlights .
The artificial moon can be controlled to light
up an
area between 10 and 80 kilometers wide (6 to
50
miles).

While it might sound implausible, Wu says the
technology has been in the works for years and
has
now ‘matured’ toward readiness.
Whether the plan will ultimately come to
fruition,
however, remains to be seen.
Chengdu’s artificial moon has already been met
with criticism from skeptics and concerned
citizens
who argue that the light will have adverse
effects
on animals and astronomical observation.
But according to Kang Weimin, director of the
Institute of Optics, School of Aerospace, Harbin
Institute of Technology, the light will amount
only to
a ‘dusk-like glow.’
It’s not the first time humans have attempted
to
launch a light-reflecting object into the sky –
but in
the past, such plans have largely ended in
failure.

Last year, for example, a Russian team
attempted to
deploy what was touted to become ‘the
brightest
object in the night sky, after the moon.’
The Mayak satellite launched from Baikonur
spaceport on July 14, 2017 aboard a Soyuz
2.1 a
rocket despite backlash, particularly from
astronomers who noted the importance of
keeping
the night skies dark.
In the weeks after launch, amateur astronomers
and
scientists tracking its journey spotted what they
believed to be the spacecraft.




https://www.naijaarchive.com/2018/11/china-reveals-plan-to-launch-artificial.html

Down here, we are miners!