Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




VENUSIAN HEAT
Unexplained warm layer discovered in Venus' atmosphere
by Staff Writers
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Mar 26, 2015


These are temperatures on the night side of Venus at altitudes of 90 and 100 km. Image courtesy Denis Belyaev, MIPT. For a larger version of this image please go here.

A group of Russian, European and American scientists have found a warm layer in Venus' atmosphere, the nature of which is still unknown. The researchers made the discovery when compiling a temperature map of the upper atmosphere on the planet's night side based on the data collected by the Venus Express probe.

"We measured temperatures at altitudes of 90 to 140 kilometers," says an author of the study, Denis Belyaevof MIPT and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"On the night side of the planet, temperatures normally fall with altitude, but we noticed a peak in the chart in the 90 to 100 kilometer range. Here, the atmosphere was 20-40 degrees warmer than we expected. We don't yet understand what causes the warming, but Venus' ozone layer is at this altitude. There may be a connection."

Belyaev, along with his colleagues from MIPT and the Space Research Institute, Anna Fedorova and Oleg Korablev, and researchers from the French laboratory LATMOS, as well as from Belgium, Germany and the U.S. analyzed the data obtained by the SPICAV spectrometer on board Venus Express between June 2006 and February 2013.

The European mission Venus Express was launched from the Baikonur space center in 2005 using the Russian rocket Soyuz-FG. Scientific instruments for the probe were developed by an international team of scientists, including from Russia. The unit was removed from service in February 2015, but scientists continue to analyze the data it obtained throughout its operation.

The SPICAV system (Spectroscopy for the Investigation of the Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Venus) consisted of two spectrometers, an infrared one, created by Russian specialists, and an ultraviolet one, made by French scientists.

Atmospheric temperatures were taken in the UV channel using the stellar occultation method, wherein a spectrometer captures the light emitted by a star as it goes behind a planet. The starlight radiates through the planet's atmosphere, whose characteristics can be retrieved based on the spectrum produced.

The scientists selected stars that shine brighter in ultraviolet, that is, from118 to 320 nanometers, the working range of the spectrometer (there were a total of 50 of them).

Each second within the few minutes that the star took to disappear behind the planet's horizon the spectrometer took a shot of its spectrum. Then the scientists divided the "atmospheric" spectrum by the star's "clean" spectrum to determine the gas composition and density of the atmosphere at different altitudes, as well as temperatures. From June 2006 to February 2013 they made 587 "shots" of the atmosphere, which covered almost the entire night hemisphere.

"In almost every session of these seven years we detected a layer at altitudes of 90-100 km that is 20-40 kelvins warmer than it should be," says Belyaev. "The air temperatures at these altitudesare220-240 kelvins, while they should be under 200."

According to Belyaev, this layer is in the same range of altitudes where the ozone is. "We are carrying out correlation analysis to determine if these are connected or not," Belyaev said. "We can't rule out that this phenomenon may be explained by chemical reactions, namely the decomposition of ozone when it comes in contact with chlorine-based substances - these reactions may result in the release of heat."

The researchers have found yet another peculiarity of Venus' upper atmosphere: early in the morning it is warmer than in the evening, while it should be the other way round.

Venus is a unique planet in that rotates not in the direction of its movement along the circumsolar orbit, but in the opposite direction, because its rotation axis is tilted 177 degrees. And it rotates very slowly - a solar day on the planet lasts 116 days. During the long night the upper atmosphere cools, so at night it should be warmer than in the morning.

"We found that the atmospheric temperature is 20 degrees warmer in the morning than in the evening," Belyaev says. "This is probably due to the global circulation of the atmosphere. The transition of the sub-solar point to the anti-solar point takes place at altitudes of about 100 kilometers. In this area on the night side, the air mass goes down to 70 km, which may lead to the adiabatic heating of the atmosphere."

The researchers continue to study the data collected by Venus Express, hoping to learn new information about the planet.

The work of the Russian scientists was funded through a government megagrant received by MIPT in 2011. The megagrant enabled MIPT to create a laboratory for the infrared spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres in high resolution, headed by Vladimir Krasnopolsky, a research professor at the Catholic University of America.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Venus Express News and Venusian Science






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





VENUSIAN HEAT
Venus, if you will, as seen in radar with the GBT
Charlottesville VA (SPX) Mar 11, 2015
From earthbound optical telescopes, the surface of Venus is shrouded beneath thick clouds made mostly of carbon dioxide. To penetrate this veil, probes like NASA's Magellan spacecraft use radar to reveal remarkable features of this planet, like mountains, craters, and volcanoes. Recently, by combining the highly sensitive receiving capabilities of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Gr ... read more


VENUSIAN HEAT
Extent of Moon's giant volcanic eruption is revealed

Yutu Changes Everything We Thought We Knew About Our Moon

Extent of moon's giant volcanic eruption is revealed

NASA's LRO Spacecraft Finds March 17, 2013 Impact Crater and More

VENUSIAN HEAT
Ancient Martian lake system records 2 water-related events

Curiosity Rover Finds Biologically Useful Nitrogen on Mars

NASA's Opportunity Mars Rover Passes Marathon Distance

NASA Reformats Memory of Longest-Running Mars Rover

VENUSIAN HEAT
Feud on Earth but peace in space for US and Russia

Russia Plans to Boost Space Tourism at Orbital Outpost

50 years ago today, space welcomed its first sandwich

Small Staff has Big Impact Showing How NASA Can Engage Students

VENUSIAN HEAT
China completes second test on new carrier rocket's power system

China's Yutu rover reveals Moon's "complex" geological history

China's Space Laboratory Still Cloaked

China has ability but no plan for manned lunar mission: expert

VENUSIAN HEAT
One-Year Crew Set for Launch to Space Station

Russia, US May Sign New Deal to Send Astronauts to ISS

Lockheed Martin reveals new method for resupplying space station

Testing astronauts' lungs in Space Station airlock

VENUSIAN HEAT
Russia Launches Satan Missile With S Korean Kompsat 3A Satellite

United Launch Alliance Launches Second Mission in Less than Two Weeks

UAE Moves to Purchase Russian Spacecraft Launch Platform

DoD Works to Build Competition Into Space Launches

VENUSIAN HEAT
Planets in the habitable zone around most stars, calculate researchers

Our Solar System May Have Once Harbored Super-Earths

SOFIA Finds Missing Link Between Supernovae and Planet Formation

ESA's CHEOPS Satellite: The Pharaoh of Exoplanet Hunting

VENUSIAN HEAT
Ground broken for Space Fence installation

Data structures influence speed of quantum search in unexpected ways

New optical materials break digital connectivity barriers

Japan military eyes recruits with cutesy smartphone game




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.