A massive green hydrogen plant proposed for construction in Chile could increase light pollution at one of the world's most powerful telescopes by at least one-third, says the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the consortium that operates the telescope and will either host or operate others being built nearby. An ESO analysis released on Monday found that light pollution would increase by at least 35% at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) ' one of the most advanced optical telescopes in the world ' and by at least 55% at the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), which is now under construction and will be the largest ground-based observatory for very-high-energy '-ray astronomy. The analysis also found that the green-energy project would increase atmospheric turbulence at the telescopes and cause vibrations that will damage the sensitive equipment. Together, the effects will cause 'devastating, irreversible' damage that cannot be mitigated, astronomer...
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