Hackers' Pub

Syntax	Description	Examples
`"` keyword `"`	Finds the string within quotes, including spaces. Case-insensitive. (Escape quotes inside with `\"`)	`"Hackers' Pub"`
`from:` handle	Finds content written by the specified user.	`from:hongminhee` `from:hongminhee@hollo.social`
`lang:` ISO 639-1	Finds content written in the specified language.	`lang:en`
`#` tag	Finds content with the specified tag. Case-insensitive.	`#HackersPub`
condition condition	Finds content that satisfies both conditions on either side of the space (logical AND).	`"Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
condition `OR` condition	Finds content that satisfies at least one of the conditions on either side of the OR operator (logical OR).	`#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
`(` condition `)`	Combines the operators within the parentheses first.	`(#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" OR "Hackers Pub") lang:en`

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets@mastodon.social

1/14/2026, 12:03:07 AM

Public

Did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation with a collaborator for AST SpaceMobile's fucking huge satellite launched last month and will unfurl soon.

We got mag -12. The full moon is -13, magnitudes are logarithmic. It's a little fainter than the moon, at least?

We made lots of assumptions, so this number is quite uncertain, but it's pretty clear that no matter what, it'll be eye-blazingly-bright. And they want 400 of them.

I hate AST SpaceMobile almost as much as I hate Reflect Orbital.

AkaSci 🛰️ @AkaSci@fosstodon.org

1/14/2026, 4:26:06 AM

Public

@sundogplanetsProf. Sam Lawler
We may want to double-check that calculation.

The peak brightness of AST SpaceMobile's BlueWalker 3 satellite with its 64.3 m2 phased-array antenna was measured at apparent magnitude of 0.4.

The antenna of Blue Bird is 4 times larger in area. One would expect it to be 4 times brighter, mag ~= -1.1.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06672-7

The high optical brightness of the BlueWalker 3 satellite - Nature

We report the outcome of an international optical observation campaign of a prototype constellation satellite, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3, which features a 64.3 m2 phased-array antenna and a launch vehicle adaptor.

www.nature.com · Nature

If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://fosstodon.org/users/AkaSci/statuses/115891553319655324 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)