The desert that is home to some of the most powerful telescopes in the world could lose its coveted dark, pristine sky. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) warned that observational space research work is at risk due to the probable arrival of a city-sized industrial megaproject in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
According to the ESO, the American electricity company AES Corporation intends to build an industrial complex of 3,000 hectares at a distance of up to 11 kilometers from the Paranal Observatory, in the Atacama Desert. In December 2024, the firm sent its project to the Chilean government to obtain approval for its environmental impact. If construction is approved and begins, the work will add light pollution to a unique environment in the world that for decades has been chosen by scientists as one of their favorite sites for research into the universe.
Some of the most important space facilities in the world are located in high areas of the Atacama Desert. The territory is special because there are very few clouds, it is far from any major city and the atmosphere in the place is particularly stable. Because there is no significant humidity or wind and the lenses are as close to the sky as possible, photographs of the cosmos are often some of the best in the field of astronomy.
Dust and light in a place that should be naturally dark
If the construction of the power company is carried out, the undisturbed desert scene will come to an end. “Dust emissions during construction, increased atmospheric turbulence and, especially, light pollution, will have an irreparable impact on astronomical observation capabilities, which have so far attracted multi-million dollar investments by the governments of Member States. of THAT”, commented Xavier Barconsgeneral director of ESO.
The AES Corporation project includes the construction of infrastructure to generate electricity for Chilean cities and the export of resources. In some site plans, the construction of ports, ammonia and hydrogen production plants, and light generation units is anticipated. After completion of construction, the presence of dust, planes and vehicles will be constant in the desert.
ESO representatives recommend the relocation of the project. The construction is simply too close to the observatory and perhaps there are better places for it. However, for some elements of the scientific community, the arrival of companies to sites that until now had been sanctuaries reveals a deeper problem related to disproportionate energy consumption, which will have to be treated with caution.
“Latin America is at the focus of this new extractive trend due to its abundant reserves of minerals necessary for this dubious energy transition, and in this case due to the abundance of solar energy in low latitudes. Civil opposition to these types of projects is common across the continent, but receives limited attention. I believe that it should not simply be a matter of moving this megaproject to another location, but rather questioning, to begin with, whether this project is necessary, and if it is, how, where and by whom it should be launched,” said Jorge Hernández Bernal, astrophysicist. from the Sorbonne University, to the Science Media Center (SMC) Spain portal.
“The Cerro Paranal telescopes are the main window on the universe in the southern hemisphere and very close by, on Cerro Armazones, the new Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, is being built. Affecting the quality of astronomical observation in these areas is significantly damaging the capabilities of human beings to carry out science in the long term,” said Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, researcher in the Instrumental and Extragalactic Astrophysics group at the Complutense University of Madrid. SMC.
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