Space Junk Is Polluting Earth's Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal

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October 26, 2023

This week, there's something disconcerting in the air, a faint but distinct metallic scent. Thankfully this isn't something we're all smelling, but if we were sniffing the rarefied air several kilometers above the ground, we might be. Our lead story this week reports on a new study revealing that Earth's serene stratosphere, home of our planet's protective ozone layer, is increasingly polluted by vaporized metal from space junk that burns as it reenters the atmosphere. Scientists aren't yet sure how this high-altitude influx of copper, aluminum, lithium and other metals will shape planetary climate and habitability, but the effects could be significant--especially since the rate of falling space junk is set to skyrocket in future years in lockstep with surging numbers of launches. Elsewhere this week, we have stories about worlds in collision around a distant star, the state of in-space manufacturing, mysterious rogue planets in the Orion nebula, and much, much more. Enjoy!

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics @LeeBillings

Planetary Science Space Junk Is Polluting Earth's Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth's fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown By Leonard David,Lee Billings

Astronomy Astronomers May Have Witnessed Worlds in Collision A planet-vaporizing impact is the leading explanation for a distant star's curiously fluctuating light By Lyndie Chiou,Lee Billings

Aerospace What It Takes to Grow Crystals in Space Researcher Debbie G. Senesky builds materials that can work on Venus By Debbie G. Senesky

Space Exploration Space Manufacturing is Not Science Fiction A Stanford researcher is growing crystals on the International Space Station to withstand the extreme environments of Venus. By Jason Drakeford,Tulika Bose,Kelso Harper,Jeffery DelViscio

Astronomy Stunning Images Reveal Rogue Planets of the Orion Nebula The James Webb Space Telescope's infrared gaze sheds new light on the Orion nebula, an icon of the night sky By Phil Plait

Astrophysics Traces of Oldest and Largest Solar Storm Found in Buried French Forest An enormous "Miyake event"—a bombardment of Earth by particles from the sun—hit 14,300 years ago. Such an event today would have devastating effects By Stephanie Pappas

Astronomy The Sun's Magnetic Poles Are Vanishing The sun's magnetic poles are about to reverse as part of a regular 11-year sunspot activity cycle By Meghan Bartels

Climate Change Earth's Latest 'Vital Signs' Show the Planet Is in Crisis The overall picture of Earth's health is grim, although there are bright spots: solar and wind power are on the rise, and deforestation has slowed By Meghan Bartels

Astrophysics 'Modified' Gravity May Make Planet Nine Disappear Strange patterns in the orbits of small objects in the outer solar system could be explained by gaps in our understanding of gravity rather than an as-yet-unseen new world By Nola Taylor Tillman

Astronomy JWST Detects Quartz Crystals in an Exoplanet's Atmosphere Astronomers have found high-altitude clouds formed from quartz crystals on the gas-giant world WASP-17b By Keith Cooper,SPACE.com

Weather Mysterious Lightning 'Superbolts' Can Be 1,000 Times as Strong as Ordinary Strikes Superbolts of lightning that are up to 1,000 times more intense than ordinary lightning may form because of a particular setup between storm clouds and Earth's surface  By Lori Youmshajekian

Animals Mouse Mummies Show Life Persists in Mars-like Environment Tiny mice found mummified at the summits of Andean volcanoes appear to be living in the harsh environment, which resembles Mars more than it does Earth By Meghan Bartels

Cosmology Why Is the Sky Dark Even Though the Universe Is Full of Stars? The darkness of the night sky offers a profound insight on the nature of the cosmos By Brian Jackson,The Conversation US

Mathematics All Natural Numbers Are Either Happy or Sad. Some Are Narcissistic, Too The number 1 is among the happiest numbers, 4 is sad, and both are narcissistic By Manon Bischoff

QUOTE OF THE DAY "[Earlier researchers] didn't think a lot about what happens to things that vaporize during reentry. Of course they can't disappear. They've got to go somewhere. And now with these measurements, we know where they go. They go into particles in the stratosphere." Daniel Murphy, a research chemist at NOAA's Chemical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, on his work revealing how vaporized metal from space junk pollutes the stratosphere

FROM THE ARCHIVE Don't Fear China's Falling Rocket--Fear the Future It Foretells Long considered trivial, the effects of rocket launches and reentering space debris on global warming and ozone loss could soon become too large to ignore By Leonard David,Lee Billings | July 2022

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