An astrophotographer in New Zealand is confronting accusations that a viral image of the night sky showing thousands of satellites forming a dense, crisscrossing pattern over Mount Taranaki was created using artificial intelligence. Released in mid-October, the photograph has since been viewed millions of times online.
Capturing Two Hours of the North Island Sky
To produce the image, Brendan Larsen spent two hours in September capturing hundreds of individual shots of the North Island sky. According to Source 1, Brendan Larsen set a camera to take an unlimited number of eight-second-long photos, with a two-second gap between each shot, and captured 578 photos over two hours. Each single photograph contained approximately 25 satellites.
Forty Hours of Photoshop and Erasing Stars
The final composition required roughly 40 hours of digital layering using Adobe Photoshop. During this time, Brendan Larsen painstakingly erased stars to make the satellite trails more prominent.
I could start to see the pattern emerging and realised: ‘Wow, this looks really awesome.’ I knew if I carried on it would look even better and more impressive in terms of satellite numbers,
Brendan Larsen said.
Defending Real Photography Against AI Skeptics
The completed work shows about 1,400 satellites and 14,000 trails. While the image has gained tens of millions of views and 15,000 new social media followers, some viewers have dismissed the work as AI-generated.
Brendan Larsen noted that AI generating software is becoming so good it is becoming difficult to tell AI images from real images … especially if you’re not familiar with the location or with astrophotography.
To address these claims, Brendan Larsen documented the entire creative process on video.
Orbiting Debris and Warnings From the UN
The viral image has sparked significant debate regarding the increasing presence of objects in Earth’s orbit. There are currently approximately 16,000 working satellites circling the planet, in addition to tens of thousands of pieces of defunct spacecraft and debris.
While these satellites are not yet overwhelming to the naked eye, Brendan Larsen expressed concern over the changing visibility of the stars, noting they were absolutely blown away
by the stars in rural New Zealand as a child.
Public Backlash and a Campaign to Protect the Skies
Brendan Larsen reported receiving roughly 10,000 comments on Facebook, stating that nine out of 10 of the comments are like: ‘Wow, beautiful photo, but horrifying, terrifying and really concerning about what’s happening to the night sky.’
Brendan Larsen described the sight of the satellites as interesting and fascinating seeing satellites, but it’s also disturbing.
The UN has issued warnings that increased activity in space poses risks to astronomy, darkness, and ground safety. Metal particles from satellite reentries and rocket launches could also impact the ozone layer and atmospheric chemistry. Brendan Larsen intends to use the visibility of the image to raise awareness, and through that get a groundswell of support for protecting the night sky.