NEW STAR TO APPEAR MID JULY - just what is happening?

Russian firm plans to place a new star in the sky.

Russia is about to create a new star in the heavens, and the world will see it. But astronomers are angry about the upcoming addition to the night sky. Here's why.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- On July 14, Russia will launch a rocket with a secondary payload that will be delivered into space. That payload is the Mayak Satellite. It's a small object, the size of a football, and it cost less than $20,000 to build and launch. The project was paid for with crowdfunded donations.

But this small, football-sized object will do something that has never been done before. It will unfurl a solar sail that will reflect light back to Earth.

The word Mayak means "beacon" and like a beacon, Mayak will be one of the brightest objects in the night sky, brighter than the planet Venus. The secret is a vast sheet of reflective material that will deploy after the satellite is in orbit. The sail is 170 feet square, will be in a triangular, pyramid shape, 360 miles above the Earth. It will always be in sunlight at that height. The sail itself is less than 1/20 the thickness of a human hair.

Scientists are hoping to study how the sail works and it if affects anything. They believe if the sail works, it could be used to manage space debris. Sails could be attached to large debris to de-orbit them.

The experiment will be visible as a bright, star in the sky. Estimates say the star will shine at -10 magnitude, which is a measure of brightness. That is almost a bright as the Moon.

Astronomers are upset by the planned launch. According to them it will brighten the sky. Worse, it may encourage others to open the heavens to marketing and advertising.

Astronomers use extraordinarily sensitive equipment. This allows them to detect minute fluctuations in light and other forms of radiation in space. A bright solar sail could disrupt those observations.

One sail for a short time won't have much of an impact on the work people are doing now, but if advertisers decide that placing a star in the sky is a good way to communicate a message, the heavens could be filled with new constellations. Within decades, the skies could be cluttered with a variety of bright lights, each one intended to remind people to consume a product.

This will drown out fainter light from distant stars and galaxies, disrupting observations.

The project will be launched on July 14 from Russia. The sail should deploy shortly after reaching orbit. The object will be easily noticed by anyone who looks up to see it. Future projects are planned to follow up the Mayak satellite that will put larger, more powerful sails into orbit.

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