Could a solar ‘umbrella’ help mitigate climate change?
- Scientist: Solar shields can help reduce sun's radiation, cooling Earth
- Two proposed options: Tetherless shield and Tethered shield counterweight
- Szapudi: Using materials in space would also help reduce costs
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — In response to the Earth’s rapid warming, scientists have been brainstorming solutions to reduce the effects of climate change, the University of Hawai’i News reported.
One of those ideas would be to launch a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth. This solution was proposed by István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy.
In his paper, “Solar radiation management with a tethered sun shield,” Szapudi proposed sending out a counterweight configuration toward the sun that would limit and potentially reduce the intensity of radiation warming the earth.
The geoengineering approach looks to increase the reflected fraction of sunlight, which could also lead to reduced costs of previous space-based Solar Radiation Management strategies.
Szapudi provides multiple options for solar shade concepts, including calculations and proposals for tetherless and tethered shields.
The tetherless counterweight would consist of a massive shield that would exist in a location similar to where satellites live in between the sun and Earth’s balanced gravity, the paper said.
The other option includes using a standard shield balancing in gravity connected to a counterweight object such as a captured asteroid or moondust by lightweight tethers, according to the paper. Szapudi explained using materials in space would also help reduce costs significantly.
