Earth and Venus have an ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of gas in the upper atmosphere. This is a natural source of low-frequency radio waves picked up by the Parker Solar Probe. Specifically, its FIELDS device. “I was thrilled to receive the new data from Venus. We can only look at Venus now through these small flashes (data), “said Glyn Collinson of NASA, author of a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by NASA.
–
The data obtained, compared with data obtained by Pioneer in 1992 and Galileo between 1995 and 2005, showed that the ionosphere of Venus changes fundamentally depending on solar activity, in particular its cycle.
–
The data sent to Earth by Parker’s solar probe could help answer a fundamental question – how is it that Venus is so fundamentally different from Earth when it is so similar in size and distance from the Sun to our planet? She is even nicknamed the Earth Twin.
–
According to astrophysicists, both planets evolved similarly. But something happened to Venus once, and it affected its evolution so much that the planet, unlike Earth, did not gain a magnetic field. This is essential for surface conditions.
–
Although Venus is close, we still know relatively little about it. It is caused by inhospitable conditions on the surface. The temperature there varies between -45 and 500 degrees Celsius. The probe that ventures there lasts a maximum of several hours. But if science wants to explain why some planets in the universe are potentially habitable and others are not, it must seek answers in inhospitable places in the universe, such as Venus.
—
