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.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 134-utgaven av All About Space UK.
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LONG AGO, A LAKE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN SPRAWLING WITH MICROBES
Curiosity discovered manganese oxide in bedrock in a Martian region that may have been a shoreline billions of years ago
MOON TOUR HELL
Finding this fascinating crater isnt as hard as its name suggests...
THIS MONTH'S PLANETS
Most of the planets are tricky targets this month, but our guide will help you locate them
UNIVERSE BEFORE TIME
Could the existence of a mirror-image cosmos before the Big Bang solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy?
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Alongside Earth, our planetary neighbourhood is changing, but it’s not for the better…
Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres
A scientist has learned more about the violent processes that rip atmospheres away from planets, finding that squashing and squeezing by a parent star can contribute to this process.
The Milky Way's halo is filled with ‘magnetic doughnuts' as wide as 100,000 light years
The outer halo of the Milky Way is filled with magnetic fields that take the shape of vast doughnuts with diameters ranging from 12,000 to 100,000 light years, with the heart of our galaxy at their centre.
The Pentagon wants the commercial space reserve to support military satellites in orbit
The US Department of Defense is developing a plan to use the ever-growing American commercial space industry for national security purposes.
DOES A COSMIC 'GLITCH' IN GRAVITY CHALLENGE ALBERT EINSTEIN'S GREATEST THEORY?
Gravity changes once you reach a cosmic scale
DEEP SKY CHALLENGE : STELLAR TREASURES OF THE ARCHER AND SCORPION
Summer skies are stuffed full of amazing objects for your telescope - if you're prepared to stay up late