VENUS SULPHIDE MYSTERY MAY HAVE BEEN SOLVED

Computational methods can help us understand exotic chemical processes in planetary atmospheres

- Andrew Jones

Scientists using new computational methods have come up with a fresh insight into the potential workings of the complex atmosphere of Venus. The planet is shrouded in thick clouds made up mostly of sulphuric acid. These clouds reflect most of the sunlight shining on the planet, making it the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. However, spacecraft and Earth-based observations have also detected an unknown absorber of ultraviolet light present in the atmosphere.

Following the use of sophisticated computational modelling, a team of scientists now suggests a new pathway for creating disulfur – an allotrope of sulphur consisting of two sulphur atoms – within the clouds of Venus. Disulfur leads to the formation of other sulphur allotropes and subsequently cyclic, or ring-structured, molecules of eight sulphur atoms within the Venusian atmosphere. These sulphur particles can absorb ultraviolet light.