BY JEFFREY KLUGER
MARCH 21, 2022 3:02 PM EDT
It’s hard not to love the Kepler Space Telescope. Launched in 2009, the venerable spacecraft discovered nearly 5,000 suspected or confirmed exoplanets—or worlds orbiting other stars—during its 11-year lifetime. Built and launched at a relative bargain price of $600 million, it generated 4,306 scientific papers written by 9,606 authors. So all good, right? Well, not entirely.
很難不喜歡開普勒太空望遠鏡。該老舊的太空飛行器，於2009年發射，在其11年的壽命中，發現了近5千顆被懷疑或確認的系外行星(也就是，圍繞其他恆星作繞道運行的天體)。它以6億美元的相對低廉價格建造及發射，產生了由9606位撰文者，撰寫的4306篇科學論文。因此一切美好，對吧？哦，不完全是。
In that same 11 years, the telescope that discovered so many other worlds did no favors for our own, generating an annual total of 4,784 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, or a hefty 52,620 tons over its lifetime, mostly as a result of the electricity and supercomputing power it took to keep it operating. That also comes out to 12 tons of CO2 per paper and five tons per author.
在那同樣的11年中，發現那麼多其他天體的望遠鏡，對我們自己沒有好處，每年總共造成4784噸二氧化碳排放。也就是，在其壽命期間，產生高達52620噸，主要由於電力及保持其運作所需的超級計算能力。那也意味著，每篇論文12噸二氧化碳及每位撰文者5噸。
Ted Cruz Questions Ketanji Brown Jackson on Children's' Astronomy, in some ways, seems like the cleanest of sciences. After all, it costs nothing to look at the sky.
美國德州聯邦參議員、科學與太空委員會主席，Ted Cruz針對兒童天文學，對美國哥倫比亞特區聯邦巡迴上訴法院法官，Ketanji Brown Jackson表示疑惑。在某些方面，似乎是最乾淨的科學。畢竟，仰望天空無需任何花費。
But both ground-based and space-based observatories extract a huge environmental toll—in terms of construction, launch, energy generation and consumption, and even, at least before the pandemic, in the air miles burned as the world’s estimated 30,000 astronomers flew from conference to conference around the globe.
不過，從建造、發射、能源生產與消耗方面及甚至，至少在此大流行病之前，全球估計有3萬名天文學家，在全球各地往返參與會議，於空中英里數所耗用的燃油來看，以陸地及以太空為基地的觀測站，皆導致巨大的環境代價。
Now, a new paper in Nature Astronomy has taken the full measure of the greenhouse gas footprint of the skygazing discipline. For the study, researchers analyzed the total CO2 output of 46 space-based missions and 39 ground observatories, dating as far back as the the 62-year old Observatoire de Haute Provence, in southeastern France and as recently as the new InSight observatory in New Mexico, which went online in 2017.
目前，於《自然•天文學》期刊中，一篇新論文已經獲得，觀天學科之溫室氣體足跡的全面測量。為了該項研究，研究人員們分析了，追溯遠至62歲的上普羅旺斯天文臺(位於法國東南部)及最近位於新墨西哥州，2017年上線的新InSight天文臺，46個以太空為基地及39個地面觀測站之任務的總二氧化碳產量。
In that time, the researchers—affiliated with the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), in Toulouse, France—concluded that the 85 observatories have generated a prodigious 20.3 million tons of CO2, or an average of 1.2 million tons per year.
在那時，隸屬法國天體物理學暨行星學研究所(IRAP，位於法國圖盧茲市) 的研究人員們斷言，85個天文台已經產生驚人的2030萬噸二氧化碳。即平均每年120萬噸。
“Astronomers get caught up in the day to day—the next funding grant, the next new project,” said Annie Hughes, IRAP astronomer and a co-author of the paper, at a March 17 news conference announcing the results. “Our colleagues are aware of climate change as a problem, but there’s an enormous amount of inertia in the system.”
在2022年3月17日，一項新聞發布會上，宣布此些研究結果之該項論文合撰人，IRAP的天文學家，Annie Hughes宣稱：「天文學家們每天忙著，下一筆資金、下一個新計劃。我們的同事意識到，氣候變遷是個問題。不過，此系統中存在大量慣性。」
The paper, which the researchers had been working on for three years, used 2019 as the reference year for data, and thus does not include such new observatories as the James Webb Space Telescope, or the massive Square Kilometer Array now under construction in Australia and South Africa.
該篇此些研究人員已經研究達三年的論文，使用了2019年作為數據的參考年。因此，不包括諸如詹姆斯韋伯太空望遠鏡，及目前在澳大利亞及南非建造中的大型平方公里陣列等，新的觀測台。
Other spacecraft not included in the work include the trio of ships from China, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates which arrived at Mars in 2021. But even without those new entries to the field added, the numbers are troubling enough.
其他未包括在這項研究中的太空船，包括來自中國、美國及阿拉伯聯合酋長國，於2021年抵達火星的三艘太空船。即使沒有那些新的太空船，被加進入該領域，這些數目也足以令人憂心。
When it comes to ground-based observatories, the straightforward business of construction dominates the first phase of the CO2 emissions—with the pouring of concrete, which releases 600 kg (1,100 lbs.) of CO2 for every ton of the material used. All by itself, the cement industry is responsible for 8% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
說到以地面為基地的觀測站，建造的直接工作主導二氧化碳排放的第一階段。因為澆灌混凝土，每使用一噸材料，釋出600公斤(1100磅)的二氧化碳。就其本身而言，水泥業導致8%的每年溫室氣體排放量。
“The VLT [Very Large Telescope] and the ALMA [Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array] are just tremendously big and expensive infrastructure and they come with a huge carbon footprint,” said IRAP astronomer and paper co-author Jürgen Knödlseder at the press conference.
該項論文合撰人，IRAP的天文學家Jürgen Knödlseder，於新聞發布會上宣稱：「超大型望遠鏡(VLT)及阿塔卡瑪大型毫米波/次毫米波陣列(ALMA)，是非常龐大且昂貴的基礎設施，它們伴隨有巨大的碳足跡。」
Location makes a difference too. Once a ground-based telescope is built, its biggest CO2 contribution comes from the electricity it takes to conduct its observations. Chile’s Atacama Desert is home not only to the VLT and the ALMA, but to 14 other observatories, thanks to its exceedingly dry air and its 330 nights of clear skies per year.
位置也造成差異。一旦建造以地面為基地的望遠鏡，其最大的二氧化碳促成物，來自其進行觀測所需的電力。智利的阿塔卡馬沙漠，由於其極其乾燥的空氣，及每年330個晴朗天空的夜晚。因此，不僅是VLT及 ALMA，而且是其他14個觀測站的所在地。
That makes for great viewing, but Chile ranks only in the middle range of countries when it comes to the cleanliness of its electricity grid.
那有利於極佳的觀察。不過，說到電網潔淨度時，智利僅位居中等國家之列。
“Chile has a kind of average emission factor for electricity,” said Knödlseder. “So it’s not as high, for example, as Australia, which burns a lot of coal, but it’s not as low as Sweden and France, which use a lot of renewable energy.”
Knödlseder宣稱：「就電力而言，智利具有一種中等的排放係數。因此，它不像譬如燃燒大量煤炭的澳大利亞那樣高。不過，也不像使用大量可再生能源的瑞典及法國那樣低。」
Worse, extremely remote observatories may not even be connected to their home countries’ electrical grids and thus must run on their own diesel-generated electricity. ALMA, one such observatory, emitted nearly 300,000 tons of CO2 during its construction phase and continues to pump out an average of 56,154 tons per year.
更糟糕的是，極端偏遠的天文台甚至不可能連接到其本國的電網。因此，必須仰賴自身柴油發的電。這樣的一個天文台，ALMA在其建造階段，排放了近30萬噸二氧化碳，且繼續平均每年排放56154噸。
Space-based observatories have, on the whole, a smaller carbon footprint, since they are extremely small compared to terrestrial observatories and their construction generally takes place in climate-controlled clean-rooms and hangars. Their biggest climate impact comes from the electricity used in their annual operation, which adds up over time.
總體而言，以太空為基地的觀測站有較少的碳足跡。因為，與陸地上的觀測站相較下，它們非常小，而且它們的建造，通常是在氣候受控的潔淨室及棚廠內進行。它們最大的氣候影響，來自在其每年運作中所使用，隨著時間推移而增加的電力。
The Hubble Space Telescope, which is still operating and had been in service for nearly 30 years as of the 2019 data used in the paper, has released 1.2 million tons of CO2 over its lifetime, or roughly 21 tons for every one of the 52,497 papers that have been written about its findings.
哈勃太空望遠鏡仍然運作中，且截至於該論文中使用之2019年數據，已經服役近30年的哈伯太空望遠鏡，在其壽命期間已經釋出120萬噸二氧化碳。也就是，有關其發現，已經被撰寫的52497篇論文，每一篇大約21噸。
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Christmas Day 2021, could have a similar carbon footprint of more than 1.22 million tons of CO2 over the course of its anticipated 20-year lifetime, the authors estimate.
撰文者們估計，於2021年聖誕節發射升空的詹姆斯韋伯太空望遠鏡，在其預計的20年壽命期間，可能具有超過122萬噸CO2的相似碳足跡。
The paper stresses that the astronomy community must take dramatic steps to address its carbon footprint and not simply consider it the cost of doing business. The 20.3 million tons of CO2 emitted overall by the 85 observatories is, after all, the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas output of entire countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria or Estonia. There are ways to bring those numbers down.
該論文強調，天文學界必須採取諸多戲劇性措施，來解決其碳足跡，而不只是認為，這是開展業務的成本。畢竟，因85個觀測站總共排放的2030萬噸二氧化碳，相當於諸如克羅埃西亞、保加利亞或愛沙尼亞等，全體國家每年的溫室氣體排放量。有諸多使那些數目下降的方法。
“The first step,” said IRAP astronomer and co-author Lyigi Tibaldo, “is that existing structures are decarbonized, by switching to renewable energy sources.” Sun is abundant in the Atacama, making solar power a viable option.
合撰人，IRAP的天文學家，Lyigi Tibaldo宣稱：「第一步是，藉由轉向可再生能源，來使現有構造物(體系)脫碳。」於智利阿塔卡馬沙漠陽光充足，使得太陽能成為一種可行的選擇。
And the more the overall energy grid, especially in Europe, comes to rely on renewables, the more the telescopes located there will be able to operate without so much of a greenhouse impact.
因此，特別是在開始仰賴可再生能源的歐洲。愈多整體能源網，則愈多座落於那裡的望遠鏡，將能在沒有很多溫室效應的情況下運作。
Most space-based observatories already rely on solar panels to keep them going, but a cleaner grid means their observations can be conducted and their data analyzed with a smaller carbon footprint too.
大多數以太空為基地的觀測站，已經仰賴太陽能電池板來維持運作。不過，更潔淨的電網意味著，也能以一種較少的碳足跡，進行其觀測及分析數據。
Another answer, the authors argue, is to slow down the current building boom in new observatories in the Atacama and elsewhere, relying more on the astronomical infrastructure that already exists.
此些撰文者認為，另一種解決方法是，減緩目前在阿塔卡馬及較仰賴已經存在之天文基礎設施的其他地方，建造新觀測站的熱潮。
“The strong reduction of emissions that are required in the next decade will not be achieved if we continue building new infrastructure at the pace that is occurring now,” said Tibaldo. “That will also give us more time to perform more comprehensive exploration of the data we have from existing infrastructure.”
Tibaldo宣稱：「倘若我們繼續，以現在的速度建設新的基礎設施，於未來十年所需的大幅減少排放，將無法實現。那也會給予我們更多時間，來進行有關源自現有基礎設施之數據的更全面性探究。」
That, the authors acknowledge, will not be a popular prescription. “Some of our colleagues are a bit shocked at the idea of slowing down,” said Knödlseder. “But the [climate] emergency we are facing is so big that we think this option must indeed be on the table.”
此些撰文者承認，那不會是一種廣受好評的解決方法。Knödlseder宣稱：「我們的一些同事，對於減緩的構想感到有點震驚。不過，我們正面臨的[氣候]緊急情況如此之大，以至於我們認為，此選項確實必須搬上桌。」
For now, the telescopes will keep on working and the astronomers will keep on observing and the paper will continue to be churned out by the thousands and—academically at least—that is a very good thing.
就目前而言，上述望遠鏡會繼續運作，因此天文學家們會繼續觀察，上述的數千撰文者們，將繼續大量生產論文。至少學術上，那是一件非常好的事。
But as the authors noted in the very first paragraph of their paper, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has warned that the most recent International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is nothing less than a “code red for humanity.” It is well and good to go searching for and studying new worlds. But it’s even more important that we preserve and protect the one we’ve got.
不過，如同此些撰文者，在其論文的第一段中，指出的那樣。聯合國秘書長António Guterres已經警告，國際氣候變遷專門委員會(IPCC)的最新報告，無異是“人類的紅色警戒”。尋找及研究新天體是件好事。不過，更重要的是，我們必需維持及保護我們已經擁有的天體。
網址：https://time.com/6159184/astronomy-emissions/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+brief+default+ac&utm_content=+++20220327+++body&et_rid=207513678&lctg=207513678
翻譯：許東榮
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