Carbon dioxide and space junk.While we know that carbon dioxide has a warming effect in the lower at

Carbon dioxide and space junk.While we know that carbon dioxide has a warming effect in the lower atmosphere, it has the opposite effect in the upper atmosphere – it makes it cooler. This cooling contracts the outermost layer; the thermosphere, where many satellites are situated.A new study, published in Nature Geosicence, has shown that a cool and contracted thermosphere reduces the atmospheric “drag” on satellites and space debris.This “drag” draws objects closer to the Earth, which means that satellites have to boost themselves back into orbit periodically. But, for space junk, this drag means that objects are burnt up in the lower layers of the atmosphere.With a reduced drag, objects in space will have an increased residence time, inevitably resulting in more collisions. This may lead to effects on services provided from space if an important satellite was destroyed by a collision.-Jean Paper: http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1626.htmlImage courtesy of ESA. (note: This is an artist’s impression, this is not a real life image!) -- source link

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