Astronomers use starlight to measure greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere

Astronomers are known for peering deep into the universe, but now, their observations might also help us better understand what's happening right here on Earth.

Scientists from the University of Warwick, in collaboration with Spanish institutions, have developed an algorithm that transforms stargazing instruments into climate sensors. Called Astroclimes, the algorithm uses starlight observations to measure greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

As starlight travels to Earth, it interacts with gas and dust particles in our air and picks up extra absorption features known as telluric lines. Astronomers typically remove these lines to "decontaminate" their observations of starlight.

But Astroclimes developer Marcelo Aron Fetzner Keniger, a Warwick Prize Ph.D. student in the Astronomy and Astr