The Surface of Planet Venus - Essay Example

Lecturer: Planet Venus Venus is the second planet from the sun in our solar system and was d after the Greek goddess of beauty; it has a year with the equivalent of 224.7 days on earth and has been studied by many probes being sent to the planet mainly by Russia but as well as USA and the European space association. Venus is the closest planet to earth both in distance and radius and this proximity has meant that we know more about it than any other planet. As shown below a lost has been discovered regarding the planets formation, composition, and visibility. Picture of Venus Venus was formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago together with the rest of the solar system when our sun was formed in a cloud nebula referred to as the solar nebula (Cain). The cloud nebula must have been destabilized by a strong external force such as a nearby supernova as it began to deteriorate and with its crumbling down many stars were formed including our sun which due to its gravity attracted residue from the nebula that rotated in the form of hot rocks. The rocks would join together to form the planets of our solar system and one of them was Venus. It is believed that Venus must have collided with another huge object that affected its rotation as it the only planet to rotate in a clockwise manner. Proof of this is also seen in the fact that Venus has the longest day in the solar system the equivalent of 243 which is longer than the time it takes to revolve around the sun. In spite of this collision, Venus would still remain the biggest region within its location and it is believed it might have even absorbed the object that collided with it. While Venus is similar to earth in size being 95 % the size of our planet and given their close proximity it is likely that they formed during the same time. Venus does however have some stark differences that have made it be nicknamed earth’s evil twin by scientists. Comparative photo of Venus and Earth by NASA The lower atmosphere of Venus is filled with Carbon Dioxide and nitrogen while the upper atmosphere has a strong presence of sulphur dioxide which makes the temperatures of Venus extremely high due to a Greenhouse effect. With recordings of over 460? Centigrade the temperature on Venus are the hottest recorded on any planet even surpassing Mercury which is the closest to the sun and the sulfur fumes make the environment acidic as it rains sulfuric acid in the upper atmosphere. These factors make Venus a lifeless planet as the places are highly inhospitable for terrestrial life as we know. The surface of Venus unlike other planets does not have craters due to meteorites and two theories have arisen to explain this: either the gases are so thick that any object that enters the atmosphere will burn up due to the air pressure with the exception of the largest of meteorites, or the planets volcanoes have been erupting frequently and so cover any asteroid collisions that have occurred (Redd). The planet does not have any water on the surface due to the high temperatures but it does have two huge continents that have mainly volcanic plains. Venus also lacks a magnetic field like that of the earth and it is thought that the main cause of this is that the core has cooled down significantly thus lacks many ionized particles. Several projects have been initiated to send probes to Venus so as to explore the planet a significant number of which were done by the USSR during the cold war era where it was competing with USA in the space race. The first successful landing was done in 1970 by the Venera -7 space probes however, several fly by missions had been done before it. The Venera successfully transmitted date from the planet’s surface regarding its composition and in 1975 the Venera – 9 sent the first images from the planet. From then other probes have been sent as well as fly by missions conducted with the European Union sending its own orbiters to study the planet (Anatoly). Photo of surface of Venus from Nasa 2005 Venus is a highly inhospitable planet due to the high levels of gases toxic to human beings. The presence of acidic rain in the upper atmosphere would corrode a spaceship or probe hence no probe has returned from it and no manned spacecrafts have ever entered the atmosphere. Even if they managed to somehow enter the atmosphere with protection from the acidic upper layer. The thickness of the fumes is extremely high even with the current levels of technology walking on Venus is harder than walking under water and so modern technology would not cope with the pressure. Venus is also having constant stormy weather with its wind speeds being at par with hurricanes on earth, given the best defense is building shelters or evacuation on earth it can be safely concluded that staying on Venus even temporarily is an impossible idea. The problem of high temperatures could be remedied by use of protective fireproof suits as used in nuclear reactors but it would not make the situation any easier for an individual due to the volcanic activity that is present in Venus. Proposals have been made towards building towered structures that would be above the Carbon dioxide Surface however the problem of Acid rain has yet to be remedied. Until human technology has improved to the level the elements on earth can be controlled, all research on Venus will have to be done by probes or fly-by missions (Carr). Venus is the brightest planet in the solar system its reflective abilities are mainly because the same gases that make it inhospitable reflect more light than other planets. Its brightness was what made ancient astronomers and astrologers name it the beautiful planet and even name it after the Roman God of beauty and love. It is easily visible both during sunrise and sunset and was used by ancient sailors to chart their way across the ocean. Planet Venus is the closest planet to earth and is even almost its size and so many scientists believe that they were formed around the same time from the deterioration of the solar nebula that created our solar system. The planet’s atmosphere is composed mainly of Sulfur dioxide in the upper atmosphere and carbon dioxide in the lower atmosphere making it the hottest planet in the solar system and very inhospitable. Although research has been done by probes, the harsh winds and volcanic activity make the option of human exploration unavailable until further developments in technology are made. There has always been discussion about making it hospitable by introducing oxygen producing algae and as more developments are made in science it is an idea that is sure to gain support. Works Cited Anatoly, Zak. “Venus Probes: A complete list of Russian launches toward Venus:” 27 November 2013 < http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_planetary_venus.html > Cain, Fraser. “Age of Venus”. 18 December 2008. Universe Today. 27 November 2013 < http://www.universetoday.com/22495/age-of-venus/ > Carr, Jason. “Venus, our solar system’s version of hell” 13 December 2012 Wired Cosmos. 27 November 2013 < http://wiredcosmos.com/2012/12/13/venus-our-solar-systems-version-of-hell/ > Redd, Taylor. “What is Venus Made Of?” 16 Nov 2012. Space. 27 November 2013 Read More