Debate: Should we stop airbrushing out satellites in widefield photos?

I keep seeing these gorgeous Milky Way shots where people clone out every satellite trail, and it bugs me. I mean, I get wanting a clean image, but removing modern sky traffic feels like lying about what's really up there. Last week I spent 3 hours stacking a shot from my backyard and left all 17 satellite streaks in because they're part of our sky now. Doesn't that tell a truer story than some fake pristine view from 1950? What do you all think when you see 'cleaned up' astro photos?

2 comments

2 Comments

grayh601mo ago

Went camping last summer and spent an hour explaining to my kid why those moving dots weren't shooting stars.

patkelly1mo ago

Those "moving dots" got a lot of people fooled, @grayh60.