World's largest telescope threatened by light pollution from renewable energy project

Astronomers are sounding alarm bells as the world's most precious sky-observing location faces a risk of being blinded by light pollution due to a planned renewable energy project.

The U.S. energy company AES Energy wants to build a large renewable hydrogen manufacturing complex in Chile, only a few kilometers from the summit of Mount Paranal, the site of the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT).

VLT, which cost some $350 million to build in the 1990s ($840 million in today's dollars), is one of the world's most sensitive sky-watching instruments, capable of observing the most intriguing objects in the universe. The high-precision observatory consists of four 27-foot-wide (8.2 meters) telescopes that act as one, and has shed light on some of the most mysterious phenomena known to humankind. But the observing potential of this astronomical powerhouse will be significantly curtailed if the hydrogen project, called INNA, receives a go ahead, Xavier Barcons, ESO's Director General, told Space.com.

"The brightness of the sky is going to increase by up to 10% from this project," Barcons said. "And that is enough to make a difference between the best observatory in the world and an average observing place."

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