MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:01 pm
Astronomers Address Impact of Climate Crisis on
Astronomy, and of Astronomy on the Climate Crisis
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy | 2020 Sep 10
The Climate Issue ~ Editorial
Astronomy, and of Astronomy on the Climate Crisis
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy | 2020 Sep 10
The climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time. In the latest issue of the journal Nature Astronomy, astronomers including directors and staff of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy are addressing the interactions between astronomy and anthropogenic climate change – including the "fossil fuel footprint" of astronomy research, but also the negative impact of climate change on astronomical observations.
- The 'pale blue dot' image, Earth as photographed by the Voyager spacecraft in 1990, highlights the unique astronomical perspective on Earth as a comparatively small habitable planet in the hostile environment of space. Earth is visible as a tiny dot within one of the stripes. The stripes are caused by stray sunlight entering the camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Astronomers are no strangers to climate change. Our sister planet Venus is a poignant example of an extremely strong greenhouse effect, with hostile surface temperatures of more than 460 degrees Celsius. And the ongoing search for planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, in combination with the immensity of astronomical distances, gives astronomers a unique perspective that underscores the statement that "there is no planet B".
But in a much more immediate sense, astronomers themselves interact with climate change, here on Earth: their observations are affected by climate change, and astronomers in turn are responsible for specific emissions of carbon dioxide, and thus contribute to climate change themselves.
Now, astronomers from around the world have applied their analytical skills to their own challenging relationship with the climate crisis. ...
The Climate Issue ~ Editorial
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):811 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-01216-9
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):843 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1169-1
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):812 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1202-4
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):816 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1190-4
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):819 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1208-y
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):823 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1207-z
- Nature Astronomy 4(9):826 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1203-3