An astrophotographer in New Zealand is defending an image of the night sky filled with satellite trails against accusations that it was generated by artificial intelligence, according to The Guardian. Brendan Larsen, 51, spent two hours in September photographing the sky over Mount Taranaki on the North Island.
Larsen set his camera to take an unlimited number of eight-second exposures with two-second gaps, capturing 578 photographs. He then spent about 40 hours layering the images in Adobe Photoshop, much of that time erasing stars to reveal the satellites, each photo containing about 25 satellites.
The finished image shows about 1,400 satellites and 14,000 trails forming a dense crisscrossing pattern above the mountain. When he posted it in mid-October it gained 15,000 new followers, tens of millions of views and thousands of comments, some dismissing it as AI. Larsen said such software is becoming so good it is difficult to tell AI images from real ones, but the accusation is still frustrating.
He documented his process on video in anticipation of the backlash. About 16,000 working satellites orbit the planet alongside defunct spacecraft, rocket parts and debris, and studies have warned that metal particles from space activity could affect atmospheric chemistry and the ozone layer. Larsen said he hopes the image will prompt debate over responsible satellite use.