Rocket Lab's star of humanity has burned out

Rocket laboratoryA New Zealand company put a sparkling ball into Earth's orbit earlier this year, called the “Star of Humanity.” It was very luminous, and was theoretically intended to encourage the inhabitants of our little planet to retreat from their small and insignificant existence, but above all it angered astronomers and all lovers of stars and exoplanets.

The star of humanity was in fact in the form of a sphere made up of no less than sixty-five reflective faces capable of reflecting the rays of our star in order to make the object visible to all.

Due to its size and structure, the artificial star can actually be seen with the naked eye from all areas overhead.

Humanity's star has a problem with his wings

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's flamboyant CEO, described his star in these words: “Wherever you are on Earth, no matter what's going on in your life, everyone will be able to see that star in the sky. Our hope is that every person who watches it notices the vast expanse of the universe and thinks differently about their lives, their actions, and what is important to humanity.”.

So basically the idea was to encourage every individual living on this planet to look up to the sky and show a certain relativity.

But the initiative has not gained consensus within the scientific community, for a fairly obvious reason. To observe stars and exoplanets, astronomers need quiet, of course, but also minimal light. While our instruments are sensitive enough to see what's happening in other star systems, they could also be easily blinded by an object like such an artificial star.

Rapid disintegration

Caleb Scharf, straight from the Department of Astrobiology at Columbia University, went so far as to accuse Rocket Lab of trying to promote his company through the process, even comparing the launch of this shimmering ball to a company hanging its logo on the summit of Mount Everest.

Rocket Lab, as its name reasonably suggests, is actually in the aerospace business and specializes in small payload rockets. By launching the Humanity Star into space, it was keen to put its brand in the spotlight. So many assumed the company's gesture wasn't entirely selfless.

The company's CEO then defended himself by pointing out that the lifespan of the artificial star is limited and that in any case it is doomed to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere after nine months.

Clearly, everything has not gone as planned since the company's alien disco ball Absorbed Earlier in the week it then retreats toward the surface of our planet. It did not survive the process, and thus disintegrated upon reaching our atmosphere, seven months earlier than initially scheduled by the company.