Venus is the closest planet to Earth, but there are still many unknowns, especially regarding its galactic history. Was it once habitable? Have you ever had water? Was the atmosphere different than the toxic cocktail of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid that swirls around burning surfaces today? Is there a lesson for the planet? To find out, the astronomer suggested using the James Webb Space Telescope to look at his five exoplanets in the belt of Venus.
First proposed by University of California, Riverside (UCR) astrophysicist Stephen Kane in 2014, the Venus zone is the region around the star that is not hot enough to leave the planet with no water, but where the atmosphere has disappeared. Not as much as it sounds. This is because astronomers regularly train their instruments to find planets that may have “just the right” conditions for life to form because they still retain liquid water. Similar to the Goldilocks Zone idea.
Seeing exoplanets in the Venus zone could help astronomers better understand our own planetary neighbors. If an exoplanet is found, it could indicate the presence of life.
“Detecting these molecules in exo-Venus indicates that habitable worlds exist in the Venus zone, reinforcing the possibility of Venus’ past temperate periods,” said a UCR doctoral student. Colby Ostberg said.
Osterberg led a study to identify five Venus-like planets from a list of 300 that would be ideal candidates for further investigation. In narrowing down her list, Osterberg and her colleagues looked at criteria such as size, mass, density, orbital path, and distance from the star. Researchers suggest the James Webb Space Telescope will see these planets in 2024 as part of an ongoing exploration of the galaxy that recently discovered the first Exporanet. For this reason, they also searched for planets orbiting relatively bright stars to give Webb the perfect light to see them.
Another thing scientists hope to discover is whether the recent volcanic activity found on Venus is normal, and whether the lack of tectonic activity is typical.
The data collected by the Webb observations will add to findings from NASA’s next two Venus missions: DAVINCI to analyze the Venusian atmosphere and VERITAS to map the landscape in 3D. The result of all this new information is that astronomers are wondering why Earth and its closest neighbors have such contrasting conditions, and what Venus’ hellish atmosphere might tell us Earthlings. It may help you understand what is worrying you.
Or, as Kane put it, “Is Earth weird, or is Venus weird?”
“Either one could have evolved in an unusual way, but when there are only two planets to analyze in our solar system, Venus and Earth, it’s hard to answer,” he added. Statistical power to explain the differences we see. “
If exploration reveals that all planets in the Venus zone go the way of their Fire planet neighbors, Kane says that could certainly be cause for concern.
“This will be a warning to us on Earth because the danger is real. We need to understand what happened there to prevent it from happening here.”
This research Astronomical Journal.
Source: University of California, Riverside
