Metals from space junk are polluting Earth's upper atmosphere

Comments

• xkforce@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Approximately 5,000 tons of space dust etc. enter Earth’s atmosphere every year. Which is about 50 times the amount of space junk that enters the atmosphere annually.

  source

  • ElectroNeutrino@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    But the composition is not the same as space dust, and could have a negative impact on the chemistry of the upper atmosphere.

    source

    • xkforce@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Space dust and meteors are rich in Nickel, Iron, Cobalt and precious metals and at 50 times the concentration of the metals primarily found in satellites like Aluminum, Titanium and the like. What impact do you think Nickel and Cobalt have on the atmosphere?

      source

      • -> View More Comments
• Iwasondigg@lemmy.one ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Too bad those metals can’t reflect some sunlight and help with climate change.

  source

  • Frozengyro@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    They do, but not enough to matter in the slightest

    source
• Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  When did starlink change it’s name? /s

  source
• autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  This is the best summary I could come up with:

  ---

  Around 11 miles above Earth’s surface, leftover bits from rockets and spacecraft are lingering in our planet’s atmosphere that could potentially have a lasting effect on the climate.

  A group of scientists flew a sensitive tool attached to the nose of a special research plane, sniffing out aerosols in the atmosphere.

  They found significant amounts of aluminum and exotic metals in Earth’s stratosphere, which could alter the second layer of the atmosphere, according to a new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

  Scientists have long suspected that Earth’s upper atmosphere might be changing as a result of the burgeoning space industry, but this area, which extends up to 32 miles (51 kilometers) above the surface, is quite challenging to study.

  In order to test that theory, the team behind the study operated a NASA WB-57 airplane to sample the atmosphere 11.8 miles (19 kilometers) above the ground in Alaska.

  That number is only expected to increase as the space industry continues to launch more satellites and spacecraft to Earth’s orbit and beyond.

  ---

  The original article contains 524 words, the summary contains 178 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  source