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Planetary researcher Tereza Constantinou and her colleagues at the University of Cambridge have examined the chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere and inferred that the planet's interior is too dry today for there ever to have been enough water for oceans to exist at its surface; instead, Venus has likely been a scorching, inhospitable world for its entire history. From a distance, Venus and Earth look like siblings: it is almost identical in size and is a rocky planet like Earth. But up close, Venus is more like an evil twin: it is covered with thick clouds of sulfuric acid, and its surface has a mean temperature close to 500 degrees Celsius.
Despite these extreme conditions, for decades, astronomers have been investigating whether Venus once had liquid oceans capable of supporting life, or whether some mysterious form of 'aerial' life exists in its thick clouds now. "We won't know for sure whether Venus can or did support life until we send probes at the end of this decade," Constantinou said. "But given it likely never had oceans, it is hard to imagine Venus ever having supported Earth-like life, which requires liquid water.
" When searching for life elsewhere in our galaxy, astronomers focus on planets orbiting their host stars in the habitable zone, where temperatures are such that liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. Venus provides a powerful limit on where this habitable zone lies around a star. "Even though it's the closest planet to us, Venus is important for exoplanet science, because it gives us a unique opportunity to.
.. News Staff.
