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Geoengineering: Moon dust could dim the suns

2023-02-09T16:20:47.939Z


A gigantic cannon shoots dust from the moon into space: Scientists believe that mankind could use this technology to combat climate change. More science fiction is hardly possible.


Enlarge image

Moon in front of a forest fire in the UK

Photo: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

When Tambora erupted in 1815, few saw anything good about it.

The volcano in Indonesia spewed ash and debris into the air, killing more than 70,000 people.

It was the largest volcanic eruption in thousands of years.

The consequences of the eruption occupied the world for longer at that time, because in the following year the climatic effects of the catastrophe became apparent on a global scale: the ash darkened the atmosphere, the sunlight penetrated the ground only dimly - 1816 began as the year without a summer story one.

It is precisely this effect that is of interest to climate protectors today.

Because the temperature on earth depends crucially on the solar energy that shines on us.

If the power of the sun could be throttled in a little more controlled way, as was the case with the ash clouds of Tambora, the rise in temperature on earth would not be as great.

Researchers have already come up with a number of crazy ideas on how to achieve such an effect, for example with parasols that are placed in space.

But Utah scientists are now discussing an idea that sounds even bolder.

Three researchers led by astrophysicist Benjamin Bromley have investigated whether the earth could also be cooled down if the sun's power were reduced with a protective shield made of moon dust.

This would have to be spread out in space.

To do this, they ran simulations on the computer.

Their study was published in the journal »PLoS Climate«.

According to the researchers, lunar dust is just the right size and composition to effectively shade the sun and works better than charcoal or sea salt.

The researchers also have one point in space in mind where the dust would have to be extracted: it is the Lagrange point L1.

It lies toward the sun, about 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.

This place has a special property, here the gravitational forces of the two celestial bodies are approximately balanced.

If you were to drop an object here, it would move around the sun parallel to the earth and always between the celestial bodies - the perfect place to lay out a veil.

Moon cannon shoots millions of tons of dust

According to the researchers, however, enormous amounts of dust would have to be thrown into space every year in order to have an impact on the earth's climate.

Millions of tons would be needed, since moon dust would steadily come out of orbit and be distributed in space.

It would be best to collect the dust directly on the lunar surface and periodically shoot it at the L1 Lagrange point using ballistic means.

After all, there is enough dust on our satellite, and less kinetic energy is required to reach orbit than for a rocket launch from Earth.

Moon dust in space - pure theory

The researchers' idea sounds like real science fiction, and it is.

Because the implementation of such a plan would devour gigantic planning and financial means, you might need a small space station at the Lagrange point.

The scientists also admit that their study is nothing more than a computer simulation and they have not examined how such a project could be implemented in practice, nor what the costs would be.

"But in contrast to ground-based strategies, mitigating climate change with this approach has no long-term effects on the earth or its atmosphere," the researchers are certain.

Scientists have long been concerned with how climate change can be halted with technical means.

The most important step is to reduce the entry of climate-damaging carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is also emphasized by the researchers working with Bromley.

However, abandoning fossil fuels is not progressing fast enough, nor would that be enough to achieve the global community's climate goals.

Researchers are therefore developing what is known as geoengineering techniques that people can use to influence the climate themselves.

One of these techniques is the so-called »Solar Radiation Management« (SRM), with which the solar radiation is to be manipulated and which also includes Bromley's idea.

However, such techniques, in which, for example, aerosol particles could be deployed in the stratosphere, are subject to criticism.

The risk of something going wrong is too great for many, because too little is known about the effects on the earth's atmosphere, say skeptics.

joe

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2023-02-09

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