Santiago, February 10 (IANS). Astronomers are celebrating the cancellation of a project which they claimed could have deprived people of the world’s clearest skies. This sky is of the Atacama Desert of Chile. It is one of the driest places on Earth, with clear skies most days of the year, making it ideal for astronomical tourism.
This project would have caused irreparable damage to the telescope observations at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Recently this project was canceled. After this, astronomers said that light pollution (pollution caused by artificial light) would interfere with seeing the stars. The scientific community has hailed this as a major victory, as the area is one of the world’s premier astronomy sites.
The proposed $10 billion, 3,000-hectare green hydrogen and ammonia production facility, known as INNA, was to include a port, transport links to the coast and three solar power plants, and Chile’s environmental regulator had been investigating it for almost a year.
Astronomers have repeatedly warned that the proximity of some of the world’s most powerful telescopes would harm the region, which is the world’s best place for ground-based astronomy.
Itziar de Gregorio, representative of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, told British media outlet The Guardian, “The cancellation of this project means that there will no longer be any adverse impact on the Paranal Observatory,” where it runs three telescope complexes.
He also acknowledged that “This megaproject highlights the urgent need for protection measures in Chile around sites where professional astronomy is conducted. The cancellation of the project does not mean that the work to protect the skies is over.”
Chile’s Environmental Evaluation Service has confirmed that following a meeting last week with AES Andes (the company that proposed the centre), the project has now been officially withdrawn.
Scientists had warned that the INNA facility would impact light pollution readings. He argued that there was no need to locate the facility so close to the observatory given the potentially dangerous consequences for astronomy.
AES Andes belongs to the American company AES Corporation. It is known for setting up coal, gas, hydroelectric, wind and solar plants in Chile, Colombia and Argentina.
The company issued a statement saying, “After a detailed analysis of its projects, it has been decided to pause the INNA project.”
2020 Nobel Prize laureate Reinhard Genzel, in an open letter, urged the Chilean government to scrap the proposed project.
–IANS
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