FIGURE 2. The SPS Brightness Profile. This figure shows the predicted brightness of the sky as a result of a 60-satellite SPS system along the meridian at local midnight for Kitt Peak National Observatory at the vernal equinox. The calculation of this profile is based on an assumed 4% diffuse albedo. The brightness levels corresponding to the three impact thresholds described in the text are also shown. profile is independent of satellite brightness and variations in local meteorological conditions of the kind described by Stokes. The profile has two parts, which we will call the core and the wings. The sharply peaked core region represents the portion of the sky in which the scattered radiation from the one or two nearest satellites dominate the brightness distribution. In the wings, all of the satellites make a modest contribution to the sky brightness. Where the transition between core and wings takes place is determined primarily by the separation between the satellites, which for the Reference System is 1°. In Figure 2 we also show the thresholds for a noticeable effect, hindrance and contamination as described after the following section. The width of the affected zones is the regions between the intersection of the brightness profile and the various thresholds. Both the effect of changing satellite brightness
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