[Robotbeat]

The article is incorrect. Most of the satellites will be in very low orbits (340km) such that past astronautical twilight, you won't be able to see them except near the horizon (and even then only if you're near astronautical twilight) as they won't be sun lit. And even in astronautical twilight, you'll only be able to see about a dozen or so under good conditions. The higher orbit satellites will be less bright.

On a really dark sky near astronautical twilight, you can already usually see a few satellites in orbit, and some are far brighter.

We're becoming a spacefaring species. That's exciting, and part of it means we'll be able to see more satellites.

It's worth noting that the original tweets grossly exaggerated this problem. I think it's worth trying to minimize albedo of the satellites, but this was a completely predictable result that was obvious from the first minute anyone discussed a large LEO constellation (seeing as we already have satellites). I don't know why it took so long for the astronomy community to actually bring it up. Perhaps because the initially deployed satellites flared a lot in their pre-operational condition, but I'm a little disappointed in how fast a lot of mistruths of this situation traveled around the internet.

[jasonhansel]

Given that a large number of people reported them as UFOs, it seems likely that they're fairly visible.

Personally, I'd find this a nuisance, not a source of excitement. I find it unfortunate that, when trying to enjoy nature, we are so completely unable to escape evidence of human habitation and technology.

[Robotbeat]

They were much brighter and closer together right after deployment than in operation. Already, they've spread out and are now aligned in operational configuration so they're far less noticeable than at first. On par with typical satellites. I spotted them night before last, and it was difficult to see them.

As far as being able to detect evidence of human habitation and technology, that has been the case since the beginning of the Space Age. Choosing to find it a nuisance is, of course, a personal choice, not really something anyone can argue with you about.