Jakarta –
A team of astronomers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) succeeded in detecting the oxygen atomic content on the planet Venus. However, these oxygen atoms are different from those on Earth. What is the difference?
The team led by Heinz Wilhelm Hubers studied data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) flying into the Earth’s atmosphere, in terahertz wavelengths including microwaves and far infrared.
Data was collected from 17 locations, namely 7 on the day side of Venus and 9 on the night side and 1 on the terminator. From these 17 locations, the team detected atomic oxygen whose concentration reached its peak at an altitude of around 100 kilometers.
This height corresponds to two circulation patterns in Venus’ atmosphere. The pattern is in the form of a super rotational flow below 70 kilometers rotating in the opposite direction and a subsolar to antisolar flow above 12 kilometers, as quoted from Science Alert.
Oxygen on Venus and Earth
Venus is a planet that is similar to Earth in terms of mass and composition. However, Earth is a place of human life, while Venus is covered in thick clouds that produce acid rain from carbon dioxide with a temperature of around 464 degrees Celsius and is a hole of death.
Winds on Venus blow at speeds of around 700 kilometers per hour. Meanwhile, on Earth the maximum wind blows at a speed of 407 kilometers per hour.
Another difference is that the oxygen content on Venus is different from Earth. Atomic oxygen is different from the oxygen humans breathe.
Atomic oxygen consists of a single oxygen atom and tends not to last long, because it is very reactive and easily bonds with other atoms.
On Earth, oxygen is available in abundance in highland areas because it is formed through photodissociation of oxygen molecules. Basically solar photons break down the oxygen in the atmosphere.
This process may also occur on Venus. Venus’s atmosphere is dominated by carbon dioxide and when sunlight hits it, photodissociation splits the molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide atoms.
These atoms move towards the night side of Venus and recombine into carbon dioxide. That process causes the night side of Venus to glow.
Atom Oxygen of Venus
The researchers stated that oxygen atoms have not yet been used to investigate the atmospheric transition zone on Venus.
“Future observations, especially near the antisolar and subsolar points, but also at all angles of the Sun’s zenith will provide a more detailed picture of this strange region and support future space missions,” the researchers wrote in Nature Communications.
“Along with measurements of atomic oxygen in Earth and Mars, this data helps improve understanding of how and why Venus’s atmosphere is different from Earth’s,” he concluded.
Watch the Video “Molecule Sign of ‘Life’ Found Again on the Planet Venus”
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2023-11-15 13:30:00
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