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The European Southern Observatory is at risk of losing clear skies over the Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama desert, officials said, due to a proposed industrial complex put forward by a subsidiary of a US power company.
The Paranal Observatory houses 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 create the sharpest views of the universe. Observatory officials are seriously concerned that the proposed industrial project will reduce what Paranal can see and permanently alter night vision in the best skies for astronomical research.
Right next door
The project, named Inna, is a proposed industrial-scale green hydrogen project. The total area of the project will cover more than 7,413 hectares of Atacama territory and will include a port, ammonia and hydrogen production plants and thousands of electricity generators.
With the proposed project site located 3 to 7 miles (5 to 11 kilometers) from the Paranal telescopes, all of this would have to be built from scratch. 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 Manager. company statement announces the presentation.
Yes, environmental impacts are what worries officials at the European Southern Observatory. There are some in the Atacama Desert darkest, clearest skies From anywhere in the world. There is little moisture in the air, which minimizes the amount of light absorbed by water in the atmosphere, and it reduces the amount of wobble that high-altitude astronomers usually have to contend with when imaging sources far from the atmosphere.
Paranal’s unique location and influence
From its perch in Chile’s Atacama, the Very Large Telescope has captured ancient and recent astronomical events alike, both in our galaxy and far beyond its reach. Telescope in 2021 pictures taken 42 of the largest asteroids in the solar system. Space rock continued the trend in 2023 with two teams revealed the images of the telescope The results of NASA’s DART mission, which tested the ability to change the orbit of a natural object in space. Telescope in the same year speckled gas clouds may have formed after the first stars were formed, and just two months earlier, using a different team’s telescope first detailed picture a star outside our galaxy.
Because of the Atacama’s natural astronomy bent, Paranal is home to many current and planned telescopes, including the Rubin Observatory (home to the world’s largest digital camera) and telescopes under construction. The giant Magellan telescope At Las Campanas Observatory. The LSST Camera at the Rubin Observatory will emit its first light later this year – something to look forward to in a year’s time full of astronomical events.
“Chile, and Paranal 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 Itziar de Gregorio said at the observatory. release. “It is critical to consider alternative locations for this megaproject that do not threaten one of the world’s most important astronomical treasures.”
A team of researchers in 2022 found Light pollution over Paranal was significantly less than the other 27 major observatories. That study found that two-thirds of all major observatories the team studied had excess light pollution of 10% above expected natural levels, suggesting that light pollution is already seriously affecting astronomical observations.
“The results from this work send a final call for serious, collective, unequivocal, no-compromise action to reduce light pollution from artificial light or sunlight reflected by man-made objects in orbit,” the team wrote. means decrease.”
Astronomy is in danger
“The proximity of the AES Andes industrial megaproject to Paranal poses a critical risk to the planet’s clearest night sky,” ESO Director General Xavier Barcons said in the observatory’s release. “During construction, dust emissions, increased atmospheric turbulence and especially light pollution will irreparably affect astronomical observation capabilities, which have so far attracted multibillion-euro investments by the governments of ESO Member States.”
Earth’s infrastructure is not the only issue astronomers are concerned about. Earth’s orbit is full of satellites, which make imaging the night sky difficult. Mega constellations including SpaceX’s Starlink to create stripes about astronomical images as a private spacecraft traverses the night sky. Such moons even trouble space telescopes, as seen by some of the Hubble Space Telescope. pictures. there is tricks for cleaning these bands have astronomical images, but they are still a problem.
Light pollution is getting worseaccording to recent studies. In 2023, a group of researchers as part of NOIRLab reviewed more than 50,000 observations made around the world between 2011 and 2022. Night Globe project. The researchers found that the night sky gets 9.6% brighter every year, causing some faint stars to disappear entirely from the sky for some stargazers.
Effects of light pollution on the Atacama and astronomy
Finally, the Very Large Telescope will be done Very Large Telescope (inventive names, I know), will be 128 feet (39 meters) across, making it the world’s largest visible and infrared light 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 near the VLT at Cerro Armazones, and its first light is now expected in 2028, although ESO’s website suggests a more cautious “end of this decade.”
“Astronomical observatories may look like the proverbial coal mine,” the team wrote in their paper for 2022, evaluating the observatories’ relative sky darkness. “If we can’t keep the canary alive, then we can forget about addressing light pollution as a global environmental problem.” In addition, the group noted that other negative consequences Light pollution will continue to affect Earth’s biodiversity, including disruption of circadian rhythms and other negative health consequences.
In a statement, the ESO defended the relocation of the Andes NPP project, stating that the relocation of the industrial complex “remains the only effective way to prevent irreversible damage to the unique skies of Panal”. Meanwhile, the company is awaiting information 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 from renewable sources. It would be painfully ironic for Chilean authorities to allow a green energy project to proceed at the expense of clear skies for astronomers.
