Environment

3926 readers

1 users here now

Environmental and ecological discussion, particularly of things like weather and other natural phenomena (especially if they're not breaking news).

See also our Nature and Gardening community for discussion centered around things like hiking, animals in their natural habitat, and gardening (urban or rural).

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Dead satellites are filling space with trash. That could affect Earth’s magnetic field | Sierra Solter [Guardian, opinion] (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 7 months ago by hydroptic@sopuli.xyz to c/environment

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/11636550

Opinion piece by Sierra Solter, "a plasma physicist, engineer, and inventor who studies the intersection of heliophysics and aerospace". Relevant quote:

Upon investigating just how much dust in the form of satellite and rocket debris the space industry has dumped into the ionosphere during re-entry, I was alarmed to find that it is currently multiple Eiffel Tower’s worth of metallic ash. I wouldn’t have even been able to calculate that at all without a scientist’s personally run website. Our ozone is mere pennies thick, and soon we will be putting at least an Eiffel Tower’s worth of metallic ash a year directly into the ionosphere. And all of that will stay there, indefinitely.

How could we possibly think that burning trash in our atmosphere 24/7 is going to be fine?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Zworf 2 points 7 months ago

Orbital space is really incredibly empty.

What we have much more to worry about is the magnetic polar reversal which will happen soon. While this is happening the magnetic field is erratic and may even diminish significantly. That will have a huge effect on both sats and life on earth, though we still have the atmosphere to protect us too.

PS: I really wonder what will happen with all the radioactive particles trapped in the van allen belts, I assume they will run amok all over the place then.