Light pollution endangers first-class telescopes in the Atacama desert
Light pollution endangers first-class telescopes in the Atacama desert
a massive Green hydrogen system , which is to be built in Chile, the light pollution on Increased one of the most powerful telescopes in the world , reports the European South Stervisor (ESO), which runs the telescope and others be built, either accommodate or operate.
An analysis of the ESO published on Monday showed that light pollution at the very large telescope (VLT)-one of the most advanced optical telescopes in the world-by at least 35 % and on the southern array of the Cherkope array observatoriums (CTAO) would increase by at least 55 %. The analysis also showed that the project would increase atmospheric turbulence on the telescopes and cause vibrations that could damage the sensitive devices.
These effects would lead to "devastating, irreversible" damage that cannot be reduced, said astronomer Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, the ESO representative in Chile, during a media letter on Monday. "A point will reach a point where it will most likely no longer be possible to operate these telescopes."
Before the analysis was published, the developer of the green energy system, Aes Andes in Santiago, said that the project "wants to use the best technologies and the strictest standards" and a corporate analysis would have shown that the project would not have any "significant effects" on the observatories. On Monday, the company said in a statement: "We continue to work to collect data from the ESO document in order to understand the discrepancies between the ESO numbers and our own analysis."
perfect conditions
The green energy project would extend over 3,000 hectares in the Atacama desert in Chile, the driest desert on earth. The arid climate and the absence of clouds create ideal conditions for star observation. The region also has an extremely dark sky: a study from 2023 1 compared to 28 leading astronomical observatories worldwide and It is clear that the paranal observatory, location of the VLT, had the darkest location, followed by the nearby Armazones observatory, where the ESO the Extremely Large Telescope (Elt) , which according to the organization will be "the largest visible and infrared telescope of the world."
The dark sky of the Atacama and other properties attracted organizations that want to build the latest instruments such as the VLT, the Elt and the southern array of the CTAO. "The darker the sky, the weaker the astronomical object to be examined," emphasizes a summary of the ESO report about the green energy project.
The conditions in the Atacama also attracted the energy company Aes Andes, a subsidiary of AES Corporation in Arlington, Virginia. The company has proposed to use the intensive sunlight and the strong winds of the region to produce solar and wind energy. These would provide energy to hydrogen extraction from water, which could be removed from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Hydrogen, which is produced with renewable energies, is often referred to as green hydrogen.
aes has proposed to build a green hydrogen complex, the A port, ammonia and hydrogen production systems as well as thousands of Electricity generators would contain. The main unit of the project would be 11 kilometers from the paranal observatory, 5 kilometers from the CTAO and 20 kilometers from the Elt.
dueling numbers
The latest analysis of the ESO was carried out by Martin Aubé at the Center for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec in Sherbrooke, Canada, researching light pollution at astronomical facilities, and by other researchers under the direction of the ESO director for operations, Andreas Kaufer. It is based on information in the environmental report that AES submitted to the Chile (SEA) environmental evaluation service in early January. The SEA will decide whether the AES project will be carried out.
The analysis of the ESO showed that the increase in artificial light would make it more difficult for the instruments to distinguish between heavenly bodies for the instruments. "The increase in the brightness of the sky is like the reduction of telescopic levels," said Eduardo Unda-Sanzana, astronomer at the University of Antofagasta in Chile.
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Falchi, F. et al. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 519, 26–33 (2023).