Does this cause anyone concern?

[ChiefHappyButt]

I think I may be hardened by reading this type of thing frequently.

Does it bother you?



"Thinning Air Means Satellites, Junk Orbit Longer

A new study shows the upper atmosphere is thinning, which means orbiting spacecraft will experience less drag and not require boosting as often. It also allows space junk to last longer, increasing the odds of damaging impacts.

The study by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory shows that the thermosphere, which begins about 60 miles (90 kilometers) up, has cooled and contracted 10 percent over the past 35 years, as theorists had predicted. The cause is most likely greenhouse gases, which warm the lower atmosphere.

The research, led by John Emmert, was published Feb. 5 in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics.

The study tracked 27 manmade objects that had been in orbit for more than three decades and were at altitudes similar to the International Space Station, about 250 miles (400 kilometers). The station must be periodically boosted into a higher orbit to counteract the drag of the very thin atmosphere at that height (air is a trillion times thicker at Earth's surface).

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap heat in the lower atmosphere. Higher up -- at above about 7 miles (12 kilometers) -- these same gases enhance the atmosphere's ability to radiate heat into space, the scientists said. The cooling effect causes lower-density gas to sink to lower altitudes, decreasing the atmospheric density at all levels there and above.

-- Robert Roy Britt

February 24

[efhmc]

1. Concern but not as high on my list as some (getting rid of that carbuncle

on life in this planet-aka bush).