User:Vanessa1663/Atmosphere of Venus
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Article Draft[edit]
Atmosphere of Venus[edit]
Lightning[edit]
The clouds of Venus may be capable of producing lightning,[1] but the debate is ongoing, with volcanic lightning and sprites also under discussion.[2][3] The Soviet Venera 9 and 10 orbiters obtained ambiguous optical and electromagnetic evidence of lightning.[4][5] There have been attempts to observe lightning from the Venera 11, 12, 13, and 14 landers, however no lightning activity was recorded,[6] but very low frequency (VLF) waves were detected during descent.[7] The European Space Agency's Venus Express in 2007 detected whistler waves which could be attributed to lightning.[8][9] Their intermittent appearance indicates a pattern associated with weather activity. According to the whistler observations, the lightning rate is at least half of that on Earth[1] and may possibly be similar,[7] but this is incompatible with data from the JAXA Akatsuki spacecraft which indicate a very low flash rate.[10]
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) was equipped with an electric field detector specifically to detect lightning. There were other missions that were equipped with instruments to search for lightning including the Venera 9 which had the visible spectrometer; Pioneer which had the star sensor; and VEGA which had a photometer.[6]
The mechanism generating lightning on Venus, if present, remains unknown. Whilst the sulfuric acid cloud droplets can become charged, the atmosphere may be too electrically conductive for the charge to be sustained, preventing lightning.[11] The source region could possibly begin in the early afternoon much like Earth however, the region has not been probed by either the United States or the USSR.[6]
There are theories on the contribution of lightning on the atmospheric chemistry, if the occurrence rate of lighting is much more frequent than on Earth[6] or if its similar.[7] Lightning could possibly produce heat >30,000 K, breaking apart molecules that contain carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrogen molecules (carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, sulfuric acid, and water), that will recombine to form new molecules ("carbon oxides," "suboxides," "sulfur oxides," "oxygen," "elemental sulfur," "nitrogen oxides," "sulfuric acid clusters," "polysulfur oxides," "carbon soot," etc.).[7] Lightning can contribute to the production of carbon monoxide and oxygen gas by converting sulfur and sulfur dioxide into sulfuric acid, and water and sulfuric dioxide to sulfur to sustain clouds. Regardless of how frequent lightning on Venus is, it is important to study as it can be a potential hazard for spacecraft.[6]
Throughout the 1980s, it was thought that the cause of the night-side glow ("ashen glow") on Venus was lightning[12][6] however, there may be the possibility that Venus lightning would be too weak to cause it. [6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Russell, C.T.; Zhang, T.L.; Delva, M.; Magnes, W.; Strangeway, R. J.; Wei, H. Y. (2007). "Lightning on Venus inferred from whistler-mode waves in the ionosphere". Nature. 450 (7170): 661–662. Bibcode:2007Natur.450..661R. doi:10.1038/nature05930. PMID 18046401. S2CID 4418778.
- ^ The Strange Case of Missing Lightning at Venus. Meghan Bartels, Space. 26 August 2019.
- ^ Lorenz, Ralph D. (2018-06-20). "Lightning detection on Venus: a critical review". Progress in Earth and Planetary Science. 5 (1): 34. Bibcode:2018PEPS....5...34L. doi:10.1186/s40645-018-0181-x. ISSN 2197-4284.
- ^ Russell, C. T.; Phillips, J. L. (1990). "The Ashen Light". Advances in Space Research. 10 (5): 137–141. Bibcode:1990AdSpR..10..137R. doi:10.1016/0273-1177(90)90174-X.
- ^ V. A. Krasnopol'skii, Lightning on Venus according to information obtained by the satellites Venera 9 and 10. Kosmich. Issled. 18, 429-434 (1980).
- ^ a b c d e f g Russell, C.T. (1991). "Venus lightning". Space Science Reviews. 55 (1–4). doi:10.1007/bf00177140. ISSN 0038-6308.
- ^ a b c d Delitsky, M. L.; Baines, K. H. (2015-08-01). "Storms on Venus: Lightning-induced chemistry and predicted products". Planetary and Space Science. SI:Exploration of Venus. 113–114: 184–192. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2014.12.005. ISSN 0032-0633.
- ^ Russell, C. T.; Zhang, T. L.; Delva, M.; Magnes, W.; Strangeway, R. J.; Wei, H. Y. (29 November 2007). "Lightning on Venus inferred from whistler-mode waves in the ionosphere" (PDF). Nature. 450 (7170): 661–662. Bibcode:2007Natur.450..661R. doi:10.1038/nature05930. PMID 18046401. S2CID 4418778. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Venus also zapped by lightning". CNN. 29 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ Lorenz, Ralph D.; Imai, Masataka; Takahashi, Yukihiro; Sato, Mitsuteru; Yamazaki, Atsushi; Sato, Takao M.; Imamura, Takeshi; Satoh, Takehiko; Nakamura, Masato (2019). "Constraints on Venus Lightning From Akatsuki's First 3 Years in Orbit". Geophysical Research Letters. 46 (14): 7955–7961. Bibcode:2019GeoRL..46.7955L. doi:10.1029/2019GL083311. ISSN 1944-8007.
- ^ Michael, Marykutty; Tripathi, Sachchida Nand; Borucki, W. J.; Whitten, R. C. (2009-04-17). "Highly charged cloud particles in the atmosphere of Venus". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (E4): E04008. Bibcode:2009JGRE..114.4008M. doi:10.1029/2008je003258. ISSN 0148-0227.
- ^ Ksanfomaliti, L. V. (20 March 1980). "Discovery of frequent lightning discharges in clouds on Venus". Nature. 284 (5753): 244–246. Bibcode:1980Natur.284..244K. doi:10.1038/284244a0. S2CID 11234166.