http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/venus/ Planet Venus News. Science articles on the planet Venus including up-to-date detailed images, related missions and more. en-us Sun, 11 May 2008 21:05:01 EDT Sun, 11 May 2008 21:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/venus/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm Astronomers are looking to identify Earth-like watery worlds circling distant stars from a glint of light seen through an optical space telescope and a newly developed mathematical method. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404114325.htm ESA's Venus Express has measured a highly variable quantity of the volcanic gas sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere of Venus. Scientists must now decide whether this is evidence for active volcanoes on Venus, or linked to a hitherto unknown mechanism affecting the upper atmosphere. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404114325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402202055.htm Scientists analyzing the data from the European Venus Express spacecraft now orbiting Earth's prodigal twin planet have been piecing together an understanding of why the climate on both worlds is so different. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402202055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313095626.htm Venus Express has constantly been observing the south pole of Venus and has found it to be surprisingly fickle. An enormous structure with a central part that looks like the eye of a hurricane, morphs and changes shape within a matter of days, leaving scientists puzzled. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313095626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm Using two ESA spacecraft, planetary scientists are watching the atmospheres of Mars and Venus being stripped away into space. The simultaneous observations by Mars Express and Venus Express give scientists the data they need to investigate the evolution of the two planets' atmospheres. Despite the differences in size and distance from the Sun, Mars and Venus are surprisingly similar. Both planets have beams of electrically charged particles flowing out of their atmospheres. The particles are being accelerated away by interactions with the solar wind, a constant stream of electrically charged particles released by the Sun. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160017.htm A mega-collision between two large embryonic planets could have created Venus as we know it, according to a new paper by a Cardiff University scientist. Venus is a sister planet to Earth. It is nearly the same size and density yet it has a surface temperature of 720 K, an atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide and no evidence of oceans or ridges. It has been described as "Earth's evil twin". Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160017.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm Modeling of the Earth's atmosphere has acquired economic importance due to its use in the prediction of ozone depletion and in measuring the impact of global warming. Now researchers have found that the rate at which electrons lose energy to carbon monoxide is greater than that to carbon dioxide at higher levels in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm Venus Express has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. Such 'global weather', unlike anything on Earth, has given scientists a new mystery to solve. The cloud-covered world of Venus is all but a featureless, unchangeable globe at visible wavelengths of light. Switch to the ultraviolet and it reveals a truly dynamic nature. Transient dark and bright markings stripe the planet, indicating regions where solar ultraviolet radiation is absorbed or reflected, respectively. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221084148.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203173004.htm Sending an unmanned spacecraft to the outer fringes of the solar system requires extensive planning.Engineers have now developed an efficient and highly sophisticated mathematical algorithm (implemented as software) that determines the most efficient path for a spacecraft's journey from point A to point B -- no matter how many worlds or years away. Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203173004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071128155513.htm Venus is a hellish place of high temperatures and crushing air pressure. The European Space Agency's Venus Express mission adds into this mix the first confirmation that the Venusian atmosphere generates its own lightning. Scientists currently know of only three other planetary bodies in the entire universe that generate lightning -- Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071128155513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071010130150.htm Planetary scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have tracked down a rare molecule in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus. The molecule, an exotic form of carbon dioxide, could affect the way the greenhouse mechanism works on Venus. Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071010130150.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829170644.htm Scientists hope to learn more about climate changes here on Earth by studying Venus. A prototype balloon could eventually study the planet's surface and examine its atmosphere and the bizarre winds and chemistry within it. A team of JPL, ILC Dover and NASA Wallops Flight Facility engineers designed, fabricated and tested the balloon. Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829170644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070824120456.htm Since its launch in 2006, ESA's Venus Amateur Observing Project has invited amateur astronomers to submit scientifically useful images and data to support scientists working on the Venus Express mission. The amateur images, taken in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet bands, give a different, global perspective on features observed by the spacecraft, show a comparative view of the planet in various parts of the spectrum covered by instruments aboard Venus Express, and can also capture views of Venus that are hidden to the spacecraft in its orbit. Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070824120456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604155748.htm Researchers will scan Venus during a spacecraft flyby this week using an $8.7 million instrument they designed and built for NASA's MESSENGER Mission, launched in 2004 and speeding toward Mercury. Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604155748.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507113356.htm An exciting new series of videos from ESA's Venus Express has been capturing atmospheric details of day and night areas simultaneously, at different altitudes. Fri, 11 May 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507113356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426093408.htm Earth sits between two worlds that have been devastated by climate catastrophes. In the effort to combat global warming, our neighbors can provide valuable insights into the way climate catastrophes affect planets. Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426093408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070411090258.htm One year has passed since April 11, 2006, when Venus Express, Europe's first mission to Venus and the only spacecraft now in orbit around the planet, reached its destination. Since then, this advanced probe, born to explore one of the most mysterious planetary bodies in the Solar System, has been revealing planetary details never caught before. Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070411090258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112007.htm New images and data from ESA's mission to Venus provide new insights into the turbulent and noxious atmosphere of Earth's sister planet. What causes violent winds and turbulences? Is the surface topography playing a role in the complex global dynamics of the atmosphere? Venus Express is on the case. Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112007.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070227105159.htm ESA's Mars Express and Venus Express missions, to explore our nearest neighbor planets Mars and Venus respectively, will continue to operate until early May 2009. The decision was unanimously taken by ESA's Science Program Committee. Sat, 10 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070227105159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061214142316.htm Thanks to ESA's Venus Express data, scientists obtained the first large-area temperature maps of the southern hemisphere of the inhospitable, lead-melting surface of Venus. Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061214142316.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128092959.htm Cassini's spectacular image of Saturn's polar vortex, published this month by NASA, may provide astronomers with a missing piece in the puzzle of how that planet's atmosphere works. For planetary scientists studying Venus, the image was strangely familiar. Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128092959.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061109130702.htm One year after its launch on November 9, 2005, and a few months into its science phase, ESA's Venus Express keeps working well and continues to gather lots of data about the hot and noxious atmosphere of the planet. Newly released images show additional details of the thick cloud deck that surrounds Venus. Sun, 12 Nov 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061109130702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013202034.htm In its relentless probing of Venus's atmosphere, ESA's Venus Express keeps revealing new details of the Venusian cloud system. Meteorology at Venus is a complex matter, scientists say. Sun, 15 Oct 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013202034.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627104232.htm ESA's Venus Express data undoubtedly confirm for the first time the presence of a huge 'double-eye' atmospheric vortex at the planet's south pole. This striking result comes from analysis of the data gathered by the spacecraft during the first orbit around the planet. Tue, 27 Jun 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627104232.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060509094007.htm Less than one month after insertion into orbit, and after sixteen loops around the planet Venus, ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has reached its final operational orbit. Tue, 09 May 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060509094007.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060415112644.htm The European Space Agency's Venus Express has returned the first-ever images of the hothouse planet's south pole from a distance of 206,452 kilometres, showing surprisingly clear structures and unexpected detail. The images were taken 12 April during the spacecraft's initial capture orbit after successful arrival on 11 April 2006. Sat, 15 Apr 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060415112644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060412091520.htm At the end of a 153-day and 400-million km cruise into the inner Solar System, The European Space Agency's Venus Express space probe fired its main engine, which brought it into orbit around Venus. During the next four weeks, the Venus Express probe will perform a series of manoeuvres to reach the scheduled operational orbit for its scientific mission. Wed, 12 Apr 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060412091520.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060221083926.htm One hundred days after beginning its cruise to Venus, ESA's Venus Express spacecraft successfully tested its main engine for the first time in space. Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060221083926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051109183309.htm The European spacecraft Venus Express has been successfully placed into a trajectory that will take it on its journey from Earth towards its destination of the planet Venus, which it will reach next April. Venus Express will eventually manoeuvre itself into orbit around Venus in order to perform a detailed study of the structure, chemistry and dynamics of the planet's atmosphere, which is characterised by extremely high temperatures, very high atmospheric pressure, a huge greenhouse effect. Thu, 10 Nov 2005 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051109183309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051102173457.htm University of Colorado at Boulder planetary scientist Larry Esposito, a member of the European Space Agency's Venus Express science team, believes the upcoming mission to Earth's "evil twin" planet should be full of surprises. Wed, 02 Nov 2005 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051102173457.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051014073101.htm Preparations for ESA's Venus Express mission passed a new milestone when the spacecraft was attached to its Fregat upper-stage rocket. The mission is now only two weeks away from launch on 26 October. Fri, 14 Oct 2005 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051014073101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040604025320.htm Venus traverses the Sun for the first time in 122 years at an angle visible from Earth. On June 8, peering through a specialized solar telescope in the Canary Islands, astronomers will study the chemical composition and winds of Venus' upper atmosphere. Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040604025320.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030505084808.htm The planet Mercury will pass in front of the sun on Wednesday, May 7 in an unusual event called a transit. NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft offers excellent, safe views of the rare occurrence to anyone with an Internet connection. Mon, 05 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030505084808.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011130075128.htm Scientists have captured the first X-ray view of Venus using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The observations provide new information about the atmosphere of Venus and open a new window for examining Earth's sister planet. Mon, 03 Dec 2001 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011130075128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/03/010313074923.htm A mathematical model of the surface of Venus could show how the hot, dry surface has reacted to changes in temperature throughout the planet's history. Mon, 19 Mar 2001 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/03/010313074923.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/01/010125082448.htm Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, studying hydrous mineral decomposition rates at extreme temperatures, have concluded that hot and dry Venus may have been a wet planet in the past, like Earth and ancient Mars. Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/01/010125082448.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/01/010118070848.htm In an article published in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal Nature, University of Iowa space physicist Donald Gurnett says that a search for lightning on Venus in 1998 and 1999 using the Cassini spacecraft failed to detect high-frequency radio waves commonly associated with lightning. Gurnett's paper is certain to be of interest to other space physicists for whom the possible existence of lightning at Venus has long been controversial. Thu, 18 Jan 2001 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/01/010118070848.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990223083118.htm New computer models that indicate the climate of Venus has wavered radically in its relatively recent past may prove valuable to scientists tracking Earth's changing climate, according to two University of Colorado at Boulder researchers. Tue, 23 Feb 1999 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990223083118.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/04/980428075725.htm The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft successfully performed a flyby of the planet Venus Sunday morning (April 26), coming about 284 kilometers (176 miles) from the Venusian surface. The flyby gave the Cassini spacecraft a boost in speed of about 7 kilometers per second (about 4 miles per second) help the spacecraft reach Saturn in July 2004. Tue, 28 Apr 1998 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/04/980428075725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980309043643.htm A new model of Venus, derived largely from the highly successful Magellan Mission early in this decade, shows that two of the planet's most predominant features, crustal plateaus and volcanic rises, were formed by a mechanism similar to hot spot plumes, a process still active on Earth today and evident in the Hawaiian Islands. Mon, 09 Mar 1998 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980309043643.htm