New interactive chart shows just how many satellites are orbiting Earth

Just how much future space trash is up there?
By | Published: January 31, 2017 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
satellites
Quartz via BoingBoing

If you’ve ever wondered how many satellites are currently active, look no further than this new chart.

David Yanofsky and Tim Fernholz of Quartz collected data from the Union of Concerned Scientists and made an interactive chart that shows active satellites.

The Union of Concerned Scientists compiles all their data of satellite locations into a database that the team pulls from for their chart. 

According to this chart, more than 1,300 are currently orbiting Earth. Besides showing the locations, this chart also shows the weight, position, and national origin of all of them.

The chart is color-coded based on country and the size of the circle is representative of the launch mass of the satellite.