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The European Southern Observatory is in serious danger of losing the bright sky above the Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama desert, officials said, because of proposed industrial projects proposed by a US energy company.
The Paranal Observatory is home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), which consists of four telescopes each with a 27-foot (8.2-meter) mirror and four auxiliary telescopes with 6-foot (1.8-meter) mirrors. Working together, the telescopes produce sharper views of the universe. Officials are concerned that the company’s proposed project will continue, limiting what Paranal can see and changing the nighttime landscape in some of the world’s best astronomical observatories.
Right next door
The project, called Inna, is a proposed green hydrogen project. The entire project will cover more than 7,413 acres of Atacama and will include a port, an ammonia and hydrogen plant, and thousands of power generators.
When all of this has to be built from the ground up, the construction site is 3 to 7 kilometers (5 to 11 miles) from the Paranal telescope. The company, AES Andes, submitted the Environmental Assessment of the project to the Chilean authorities at the end of last month.
“As with any project, our cooperation with local communities and stakeholders is a key factor, ensuring that we contribute to economic development, while maintaining the highest environmental and safety standards,” said Javier Dib, Director of Marketing at AES in Chile. . company information to announce the offer.
Well, the environmental impact is what the officials of the European Southern Observatory are worried about. The Atacama Desert has some of them the darkest sky, the brightest anywhere in the world. The atmosphere is low in humidity, which reduces the amount of light absorbed by water in the atmosphere, and at high altitude, it reduces the amount of vibration that astronomers on Earth often struggle with when measuring distant sources through space.
The unique location of Paranal and its results
From its location in Atacama, Chile, the Very Large Telescope has captured both past and recent astronomical events, both in our galaxy and beyond. In 2021, the telescope pictures taken 42 of the largest asteroids in the solar system. It continued the rock movement in 2023, where two groups revealed the images of the telescope the result of NASA’s DART mission, which tested the possibility of changing the trajectory of a natural body in space. The same year, the telescope gas clouds which may have been created after the first stars and, just two months ago, another team used a telescope to photograph them first detailed picture of stars outside our galaxy.
Due to the nature of the Atacama’s natural environment for astronomy, it is home to many modern telescopes and installations, including the Paranal, the Rubin Observatory (which houses the world’s largest digital camera), and non-stationary systems. The large Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. The LSST camera at the Rubin Observatory is due to have its first light by the end of this year—something to look forward to in about a year. full of celestial events.
“Chile, in particular Paranal, is a very special place for astronomy – its dark sky is a natural heritage that transcends its borders and benefits all people,” said Itziar de Gregorio, ESO Representative in Chile, in the observatory. to release. “It is very important to consider an alternative location for this large-scale project that does not jeopardize one of the world’s most important space resources.”
In 2022, a group of researchers found The light pollution at Paranal was less than the other 27 major light stations. The study found that two-thirds of the major observatories the team had previously studied had 10% more light pollution than expected in nature, suggesting that light pollution is already affecting astronomy.
“The results that come from this work send what may be the final call for a large-scale, integrated, transparent, uncompromising action to reduce light pollution now, whether it is produced from artificial light or from sunlight reflected by artificial objects in orbit, ” the group wrote. “Failure to act means a gradual decline in our ability to explore our Universe.”
Astronomy is in danger
“The proximity of the AES Andes megaproject to Paranal poses a major threat to the night sky on Earth,” said ESO Director General Xavier Barcons in a press release. “The emission of dust during construction, the amount of turbulence in the atmosphere, especially the light pollution will disrupt the ability to observe the sky, which has attracted multi-billion Euro businesses and the governments of the ESO Member States.”
Structures on the ground are not just a problem for astronomers. Earth’s orbit is littered with satellites that interfere with night photography. Mega constellations including SpaceX’s Starlink creating opportunities on pictures of the sky when the ship moves through the night sky. Such satellites fill even space-based telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope pictures. There is cleaning tips astronomical images of these streaks, but they are harmless.
The light pollution is getting worseaccording to a recent study. In 2023, a team of researchers analyzed more than 50,000 observations from around the world between 2011 and 2022 as part of NOIRLab’s. Globe at night project. The researchers found that the night sky brightens by 9.6% each year, making some of the fainter stars disappear from the sky for some stargazers.
The Atacama’s light pollution is astronomical
Eventually, the Large Telescope will be replaced by a The Largest Telescope (brand names, I know), which will be 128 feet (39 meters) across and will be the world’s largest visible-to-infrared telescope. The Extremely Large Telescope will gather 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 next to the VLT, at Cerro Armazones, and its first light is expected in 2028—even ESO’s. website he gives great care to “the end of these ten years.”
The team that investigated the dark space of the sky in 2022 wrote: “Astronomy is considered a well-known tunnel in a coal mine. “If we can’t even keep the canary alive, then we can forget about solving the problem of light pollution as a global problem.” In addition, the team discovered, some bad results Light damage will continue, including disruption of circadian rhythms and other negative health effects in many species on Earth.
In the release, the ESO recommended the transfer of the AES Andes project, saying that moving the industry “is the only way to stop the irreversible destruction of the unique atmosphere of Paranal.” Meanwhile, the company is waiting for word from the Chilean authorities if the environmental impact is too low for the project to be carried out as proposed.
The cornerstone of the company’s message is to reduce its energy consumption and increase the amount of energy that comes from renewable sources. It would be unfortunate for the Chilean authorities to allow the green energy project to continue destroying the clear sky for astronomers.
