Plan to cool the Earth with a giant umbrella

A group of American scientists want to launch umbrellas into space between the Earth and the Sun to block radiation that is heating up the planet.

Simulating the idea of using an umbrella as wide as Argentina to block solar radiation. Photo: Technion Institute of Technology — Simulating the idea of using an umbrella as wide as Argentina to block solar radiation. Photo: *Technion Institute of Technology*

The Earth is at its hottest point in history and humanity is looking for ways to stop global warming. A group of astronomers and physicists have proposed a potentially sci-fi-like idea: a giant umbrella floating in space. Their idea is to create a sunshade and launch it between the Earth and the Sun to block a small amount of radiation, enough to counteract the warming.

A team of researchers led by Yoram Rozen, a physics professor and director of the Asher Institute for Space Research at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, says they are ready to build a prototype to prove the idea works. To block the necessary amount of solar radiation, the shield would need to cover an area of about 2.6 million square kilometers, an area the size of Argentina. Such a shield would weigh at least 2.5 million tons, too heavy to launch into space. So the project would involve a series of smaller shields that would not completely block sunlight but could cast shade on Earth. Rozen says his team is ready to design a prototype shield larger than 10 square feet at a cost of $10 million to $20 million , Futurism reported on February 3.

Critics of the idea say the shield would not stop burning coal and oil. Even if fossil fuel emissions were to drop to zero immediately, the carbon dioxide trapped by heat in the atmosphere would still be there. It would also be expensive and not feasible to implement in a timely manner given the pace of climate change. And a solar storm or collision with a stray asteroid could destroy the shield, leading to a sudden, rapid warming of the Earth’s climate.

Scientists calculate that blocking just 2% of the Sun’s radiation would be enough to cool the Earth by 1.5 degrees Celsius and stay within the acceptable climate limits. As the climate crisis worsens, interest in solar shields has grown, prompting researchers to come up with a variety of ideas. A recent study from the University of Utah explored spreading dust into space, while a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has looked at bubble shields. Last year, Istvan Szapudi, a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, proposed strapping a large solar shield to an asteroid.

An Khang (According to Futirism/Times of India )

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