2023-11-12 16:40:03
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View of the planet Venus, which today resembles a blazing hell – but may once have had a temperate climate. © NASA/JPL
Venus, known as “Hell”, surprises with a discovery. A breakthrough that might explain the differences between Earth and its sister planet.
Stuttgart – German researchers have discovered 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.
Venus has remarkable similarities to Earth: both are regarding the same age, similar size and probably formed from the same materials. However, there are also significant differences between the two planets. Earth is a planet where life thrives: oceans full of liquid water are rich in life, and living things are everywhere on land and in the air. The atmosphere of our blue planet is rich in oxygen – an important aspect when it comes to life on planets.
Venus is a sister planet to Earth – and yet completely different
However, the situation on Venus is different. Earth’s neighboring planet is surrounded by a dense cloud layer 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 self-reinforcing and unstoppable. In addition, there is a pressure of 92 bar at a temperature of over 400 degrees Celsius. In short: life does not seem to be possible on Venus, the planet is referred to as “scorching hell”..
Nevertheless, the study of the Earth-like planet is of great interest. After all, Earth might one day suffer a fate similar to Venus. Some scientists even 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 evidence of life.
“Flying Observatory” SOFIA took a close look at Venus
The German research team that detected oxygen in the atmosphere of Venus examined the planet using the “flying observatory” SOFIA. SOFIA was a joint project of the German Aerospace Center Space travel (DLR) and the US space organization NASA. The mission ended in September 2022, but the data collected is still being analyzed.
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 once morest the direction of rotation of Venus, and above 120 kilometers, strong winds blow in the opposite 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 atmosphere of Venus.
Venus observation was difficult
The measurements that led to this exciting discovery 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. The result is a map of the oxygen distribution on Venus.
View of the planet Venus, which today resembles a blazing hell – but may once have had a temperate climate. © NASA/JPL
“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,” adds the researcher.
Oxygen concentration on Venus is lower than on Earth
The oxygen concentration in Venus’s atmosphere is regarding 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 developed so differently,” explains Bernhard Schulz, who was involved in the SOFIA project. In the next few years, Venus will be explored once more up close. NASA plans to send two space probes to the planet near Earth. (tab)
Machine assistance was used for this article written by the editorial team. The article was carefully checked by editor Tanja Banner before publication.
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