REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Thick, acid-rich clouds on Venus continue to mysteriously cover the planet. Scientists have long debated what the flashes recorded by the mission were Venus previously, it was evidence of lightning strikes on the planet.
If the flashes were actually lightning, future missions to the windy planet would need to be designed so they are strong enough to survive lightning strikes, which are known to damage electronic devices on Earth.
Additionally, lightning on Venus means Earth’s cosmic neighbor will join a rare group of planets whose current members (Earth, Jupiter and Saturn) host lightning strikes in their clouds. Such flashes of light are also unique in the world because they persist even though Venus’s clouds lack water, a substance thought to be important in creating electrical charges.
Therefore, scientists are very enthusiastic about the possibility of lightning on Venus, but the existing evidence so far is still circumstantial. And now, a new study suggests that lightning may be extremely rare on the planet.
On the contrary, as reported by SpaceWednesday (20/9/2023), study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets on August 25, 2023, mentioned the possibility that a burning meteor in Venus’ atmosphere was most likely responsible for the detected flash of light.
Assuming the number of meteors falling on Venus was the same as that seen on Earth, the team calculated the number of flashes caused by the space rock.
Then, the researchers compared the data with flashes of light recorded in Venus’ atmosphere via two surveys: the Mount Bigelow Observatory in Arizona and Japan’s Venus orbiter, Akatsuki, which has been orbiting our planet’s neighbor since 2015.
The results of the study suggest that burning space rocks about 62 miles (100 km) from the surface of Venus are likely responsible for most if not all of the observed flashes. “Lightning is unlikely to be a threat to missions that pass through or even linger within clouds,” the study said.
Data from previous Venus missions conducted by the US, Europe and the former Soviet Union included signals that scientists long interpreted as lightning strikes, and even thought they occurred more frequently than they do on Earth.
However, in the past, Cassini, which is on Saturn, and Parker Solar Probe, which is on the Sun, have tried to search for but failed to find radio signals from lightning on Venus.
Studies like these are important for planning future missions to Venus, an endeavor that is widely considered long overdue, especially since the detection of possible active volcanoes on Venus’ surface suggests that it may still be geologically active.
If lightning strikes were a real risk, probes attempting to descend to Venus’ surface or those that would float for months in its thick atmosphere would need protection while collecting valuable data.
While there may still be lightning on the surface of Venus caused by volcanic eruptions, the new study finds that overall, it is not a significant concern for future missions.
Future spacecraft descending rapidly through Venus’ atmosphere will be safe. This includes NASA’s DAVINCI (short for Deep Atmospheric Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging), which is scheduled to penetrate Venus’ atmosphere in the early 2030s.
For long-lived aerial platforms that hover in planetary clouds for about 100 Earth days or more, the study found that lightning strikes were more likely if the probe was within 56 miles (90 km) of the surface. “However, perhaps attacks that are far enough away would appear more attractive than dangerous,” the new study said.
2023-09-20 07:11:59
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