Concentrations of ozone-damaging aluminum oxides in Earth’s atmosphere could increase by 650 percent in the coming decades as a result of a surge in defunct satellites burning up during re-entry, a unique study has found. And as mega-satellite constellations continue to tickle the fancy of private companies, that could spell some pretty bad news for … Read more
Listen here on your chosen podcast platform. A team from the University of Southern California claims their research indicates that megasatellite constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, spew large amounts of alumina gas into the atmosphere that could deplete the ozone layer. The ozone layer in Earth’s atmosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which … Read more
Susan Solomon was born and raised in Chicago and received her PhD in atmospheric chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her work from the 1980s that identified how the Earth’s protective ozone layer was being depleted by man-made chemicals. Her studies formed the basis of the 1989 Montreal Protocol – … Read more
An illustration of satellite reentry next to a photo of polar stratospheric clouds.iStock/Getty Images Plus; Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Insider Spacecraft that burn up in the atmosphere leave behind metal particles. Scientists are rushing to understand whether this affects the climate. One risk is that these particles could create rainbow-colored clouds that damage the ozone layer. … Read more