  On 8 April 2024, tens of millions of people across North America will be able
to view a total solar eclipse. Such astronomical events have been important
throughout history, but with nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit, we question
whether total eclipses will now reveal a sky full of satellites, fundamentally
changing this experience for humanity. Using the current population of Starlink
satellites, we find that the brightest satellites would be naked-eye visible in
dark skies, but the high sky brightness during totality will make them
undetectable to the unaided eye. Our model does not take into account the
effects of chance reflections from large, flat surfaces like solar panels,
which we expect will cause glints and flares that could be visible from large
satellites and abandoned rocket bodies. Time-lapse all-sky imaging might reveal
satellites during the eclipse.
