2023-11-10 15:11:16
HomepageKnowledge
View of the planet Venus, which today resembles a blazing hell – but may once have had a temperate climate. © NASA/JPL
Venus is an uninhabitable scorching hell – in whose atmosphere there is vital oxygen. Its existence should help answer an important question.
Stuttgart – Astronomers have found clear evidence of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of the planet Venus. Oxygen has already been detected on the night side of the planet – now it has also been detected on the day side of Venus for the first time.
The planet Venus is remarkably similar to Earth: both are regarding the same age, similar size and probably formed from the same materials. Nevertheless, there are also big differences between the two planets. Earth is a planet where life thrives: oceans with liquid water are teeming with life and there are living beings on land and in the air wherever you look. The atmosphere of the blue planet is rich in oxygen – an important point when it comes to life on planets.
Planet Venus is considered an inhospitable “heat hell”
It’s different on Venus. Earth’s neighboring planet is surrounded by a dense cloud cover of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and trace gases. There is a so-called “galloping greenhouse effect” on the planet itself – this means a greenhouse effect that is reinforcing itself and cannot be stopped. In addition, there is a pressure of 92 bar at a temperature of more than 400 degrees Celsius. In short: no life seems possible on Venus; the planet is considered a “fiery hell”.
Nevertheless, research is interested in Earth’s neighboring planet. After all, the Earth might one day end up like Venus. Some researchers also suspect that there might be life in the clouds of Venus. Some time ago, phosphine was detected in the planet’s atmosphere – a controversial possible indication of life.
“Flying Observatory” examines Venus
The research team that detected oxygen in the atmosphere of Venus studied the planet using the SOFIA “flying observatory”. SOFIA was a joint project between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the US space organization NASA. The mission was discontinued in September 2022, but data collected is still being evaluated today.
The current results have been in the specialist journal Nature published and show that there is a layer of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Venus. The oxygen is hidden between two strong atmospheric currents: below 70 kilometers, strong winds blow in the opposite direction to Venus’ rotation, and above 120 kilometers, strong winds blow in the other direction. Atomic oxygen is located between these two flows. It is created by the sun’s UV radiation from the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the Venus atmosphere.
New study: Oxygen is formed on the dayside of Venus
The measurements that led to the exciting find were carried out by “SOFIA” in November 2021. “They were particularly challenging because Venus might only be observed with SOFIA on three days for around 20 minutes each and was only slightly above the horizon,” recalls the first author of the study, Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers from DLR. A map of the oxygen distribution on Venus was created.
SOFIA was a NASA and DLR aircraft converted into a “flying observatory”. © Axel Heimken/dpa
“We were able to show that oxygen is formed on the dayside of Venus and that its concentration also decreases as solar radiation decreases,” explains Hübers. “On the night side, a local increase in concentration indicates an enrichment of atomic oxygen as a result of wind currents,” the researcher continued.
The oxygen concentration in the atmosphere of Venus is around ten times lower than in Earth’s atmosphere. “Measuring these clear differences from Earth can in the future contribute to a better understanding of why Earth and its sister planet Venus have developed so differently,” explains Bernhard Schulz, who is involved in the SOFIA project.
In the coming years, Venus will be explored up close once more. NASA wants to send two space probes to Earth’s neighboring planet. (tab)
1699630875
#Research #team #detects #oxygen #Venus #atmosphere
