In Venus’ upper atmosphere, water meets carbon dioxide to form HCO cations. Next, the hydrogen created by combining with the electrons is expelled into space. (Photo provided by Live Science)
[뉴스웍스=문병도 기자] The solar system contains Earth and twin planets. It’s Venus.
Venus is similar to Earth in many ways. First, they are similar in size. The radius of Venus is approximately 6025 km, which is 95% of the Earth’s radius. The amount of gravity that Venus exerts on objects is 90% of Earth’s gravity, which means that objects on this planet weigh about 10% less than on Earth.
However, it only seems that way; when you get closer, the difference is as different as heaven and earth.
Venus is surrounded by a dense atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure of Venus is 92 bar, which is more than 90 times that of the Earth’s atmosphere. The majority of atmospheric components are carbon dioxide, which accounts for more than 96%, and nitrogen, which accounts for 3.5%. Due to the greenhouse effect, the temperature near the surface rises up to 480 degrees Celsius. Since the troposphere exists up to 80 km from the surface, convective motions are strong and the average wind speed reaches 360 meters per second. For reference, Typhoon Maemi’s wind speed was 50 meters per second.
However, water existed on Venus billions of years ago. As a result of the research, it was enough to cover the surface of Venus to a thickness of about 3 km. Enough to form oceans like on Earth. For reference, Earth’s water can cover the entire Earth’s surface to a depth of 2440 meters. However, everything evaporated due to the strong greenhouse effect created by carbon dioxide. However, evaporation alone could not explain why Venus became as dry as it is now.
Dr. Michael Chapin’s research group at the University of Colorado at Boulder has discovered a new mechanism for the disappearance of water on Venus. Through computer simulation, the chemical reaction that causes hydrogen atoms in the atmosphere to fly into space has been identified. The research results were recently published in the scientific journal Nature.
The research team used computer models to study various chemical reactions occurring in the Venusian atmosphere. In this process, it was discovered that HCO+, a positive ion containing one hydrogen, one carbon and one oxygen atom, could be the main culprit in the disappearance of water from Venus. HCO+ ions are created when water and carbon dioxide meet in the upper atmosphere. HCO+ combines with electrons in the atmosphere and is separated into carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H). The light hydrogen atom quickly bounces off the carbon monoxide molecule like a launch pad and escapes into space.
Dr. Chapin’s simulations revealed that HCO+ is one of the most abundant ions in the Venusian atmosphere. They found that the presence of HCO+ caused the water to decrease twice as fast as previously estimated as it flew from Venus into space.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to send the Venus Deep Atmosphere Survey (DAVINCI) probe in the early 2030s to penetrate the atmosphere and investigate the presence of water in the lower atmosphere. Dr Chapin said: “Venus is similar in size and mass to Earth, but the current amount of water is only about 1/100,000 that of Earth. He added: “The new exploration plan is based on decades of experience and interest . and is based on the extreme conditions and evolution of Venus’ atmosphere: “We will explore the possibility of the existence of life,” he said.
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