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The European Southern Observatory is at serious risk of losing clear skies over its Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, officials said, due to a proposed industrial complex by a subsidiary of a US power company.
The Paranal Observatory is ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), consisting of four telescopes with 27-foot (8.2-meter) mirrors each and four auxiliary telescopes with 6-foot (1.8-meter) mirrors. Working together, the telescopes produce some of the sharpest views of the universe. Observatory officials are seriously concerned that the proposed industrial project, going ahead, will reduce what Paranal can see and permanently alter nighttime visibility in some of the best skies for astronomical research.
Right next door
The Inna project is a proposed industrial-scale green hydrogen project. The project’s total footprint will cover more than 7,413 acres in the Atacama and will include a port, ammonia and hydrogen production facilities, and thousands of electrical generators.
The proposed project site, located 3 to 7 miles (5 to 11 km) from Paranal’s telescope, is to be built from the ground. The company, AES Andes, submitted an environmental impact assessment for the project to Chilean authorities late last month.
“As with any project, our partnership with local communities and stakeholders is a top priority, ensuring we support local economic development while maintaining the highest environmental and safety standards,” said Javier Dib, AES’ Chile Market Business Leader, in a Company statement Declaration of submission
Well, the environmental effects are exactly what officials at the European Southern Observatory are concerned about. The Atacama Desert has something Dark, clear sky anywhere in the world. The air has little moisture, reducing the amount of light absorbed by water in the atmosphere, and is at high altitude, which reduces the shake that Earth-based astronomers typically experience when photographing distant sources through the atmosphere.
Parnal’s unique position and impact
From its perch in Atacama, Chile, the Very Large Telescope has captured both ancient and recent astronomical events both in our galaxy and beyond its reach. In 2021, the telescope Snapped image 42 of the largest asteroids in the solar system. It continues the space rock trend in 2023, when two teams Telescope images released The aftermath of NASA’s DART mission, which tested the effectiveness of altering the orbits of natural bodies in space. Telescope in the same year Scar gas cloud That may have formed after the first star and just two months earlier, a different team used the telescope First detailed image of a star outside our galaxy.
Due to the Atacama’s natural disposition for astronomy, it is home to many current and planned telescopes, including Paranal, the Rubin Observatory (which hosts the world’s largest digital camera), and those under construction. Giant Magellan Telescope At Las Campanas Observatory. Rubin Observatory’s LSST camera is set for its first light later this year – something to look forward to in a year. Crammed with astronomical events.
“Chile, and Paraná in particular, is a truly special place for astronomy—its dark sky is a natural heritage that transcends its borders and benefits all of humanity,” ESO Representative in Chile Itzier de Gregorio said at an observatory. liberation. “It is critical to consider alternative locations for this megaproject that do not endanger one of the world’s most important astronomical treasures.”
In 2022, a team of researchers found Light pollution over Parnal was considerably less than at 27 other major observatories. The study found that two-thirds of all large observatories the team studied already had light pollution increased by 10% compared to natural levels, indicating that light pollution is already causing severe damage to astronomical observations.
“The results arising from this work are sending what may now be a final call for serious, concerted, unequivocal, no-compromise action to reduce light pollution, whether from artificial light or from sunlight reflected by artificial objects in orbit,” the team wrote. . “Failure to take action means a progressive decline in our ability to explore the universe.”
Astronomy under threat
“The proximity of the AES Andes industrial megaproject to Paranal poses a serious risk to the planet’s oldest night sky,” ESO’s Director General, Xavier Bercones, said in the Observatory release. “Dust emissions during construction, increased atmospheric turbulence and especially light pollution will irreparably affect the ability of astronomical observations, which have so far attracted multi-billion-euro investments by the governments of ESO member states.”
Infrastructure on the ground is not the only concern of astronomers. Earth’s orbit is perturbed by satellites, which complicates imaging the night sky. Megaconstellation with SpaceX’s Starlink Create the line on Astronomical images As individual spacecraft transport through the night sky. Such satellites, seen by some of the Hubble Space Telescope, dwarf even space-based telescopes. picture. there is Cleaning techniques These streaks are astronomical images, but they are a problem nonetheless.
Light pollution is getting worseAccording to recent research. In 2023, a team of researchers as part of NOIRLab reviewed more than 50,000 observations made around the world between 2011 and 2022. Globe at night Project researchers found that the night sky brightens by 9.6% each year, causing some of the faintest stars in the sky to disappear entirely for some stargazers.
The Atacama and the effects of light pollution on astronomy
Eventually, very large telescopes will succeed Very large telescope (inventor name, I know), which will be 128 feet (39 meters) across and is set to be the world’s largest visible and infrared light telescope. The extremely large telescope will collect 100 million times more light than the human eye and will reveal details of distant exoplanets, black holes, the evolution of galaxies and the early days of the universe. The telescope will be located at Cerro Amazon near the VLT and its Prothom-alo is now expected for 2028 – although ESO’s website A more cautious “end of this decade” offers.
“Astronomical observatories can be seen as the proverbial canary in a coal mine,” the team wrote in its 2022 paper evaluating the observatory’s relative sky darkness. “If we can’t even keep the canary alive, we can forget about being able to solve the problem of light pollution as a global environmental problem.” In addition, the group noted, others negative consequences Light pollution will continue, including disruption of circadian rhythms and other negative health consequences for Earth’s biodiversity.
In its release, ESO supports the relocation of the AES Andes project, saying that moving the industrial complex is “the only effective way to prevent irreversible damage to Paranal’s unique sky.” Meanwhile, the company is awaiting word from Chilean authorities on whether the project’s environmental impact is minimal enough to proceed as proposed.
A cornerstone of the company’s messaging is to decarbonize its energy matrix and increase the amount of energy it derives from renewable sources. It would be painfully ironic for Chilean authorities to allow a green energy project to go ahead at the expense of clear skies for astronomers.
