Overview
- A University of Warwick study published in mid‑July 2026 reprocessed archival Isaac Newton Telescope images and revealed 25 previously unseen debris tracks, including objects as small as about 5 centimetres.
- Researchers used a blind‑stacking image‑processing method that tests many possible linear paths through a sequence of images and stacks them to lift faint moving targets above background noise.
- The team reports roughly 80 percent of the faint objects came from undocumented incidents, indicating past GEO surveys have undercounted small fragments.
- Because geostationary orbit sits about 36,000 kilometres above the equator and lacks atmospheric drag, centimetre‑scale fragments can remain for decades and can disable satellites when strikes occur at several kilometres per second.
- The researchers plan to apply the method to data from other telescopes and are urging coordinated, wider monitoring so operators can better assess collision risk before future GEO launches.