They propose to create a shield of lunar dust to protect the Earth from the Sun
A team of astrophysicists suggests that we could mitigate the effects of global warming by shooting lunar dust into space to shield Earth from sunlight. On a cold winter day, the warmth of the Sun is welcome. However, as humanity emits more and more greenhouse gases, Earth’s atmosphere traps more and more solar energy and is constantly increasing in temperature. One strategy to reverse this trend is to intercept a fraction—between 1 and 2%—of sunlight before it reaches our planet. Now, a study led by the University of Utah explored the potential of using dust to shield sunlight. They analyzed different properties of the dust particles, the amounts and the orbits that would be best suited to shade the Earth. The authors found that launching dust from Earth to a way station at the “Lagrange Point 1” between Earth and the Sun (L1) would be more effective but would require astronomical cost and effort. But there is a more “a...



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