Venus

NASA’s next science missions will head for Venus, Io, or Triton 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- February 14, 2020
Four proposals were selected to move to the next stage of NASA’s Discovery Program

By David Aragorn
For the first time, an asteroid has been found nearer to the sun than Venus 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- January 21, 2020
The space rock probably reached its orbit after a series of close encounters with rocky planets

By David Aragorn
Did Venus, Earth’s ‘Twisted Sister’ Hellscape Planet, Once Harbor Water — and Life?0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 24, 2019
Vast seas may have covered “hellish hothouse” Venus for billions of years.

By David Aragorn
Venus, Earth’s Evil Twin, Beckons Space Agencies 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- June 14, 2019
Once a water-rich Eden, the hellish planet could reveal how to find habitable worlds around distant stars

By David Aragorn
Planet Venus: Hopes rise of new mission to the hothouse world 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- March 23, 2019
The longstanding idea that Venus is geologically dead is a “myth”, scientists say.

By David Aragorn
Here’s why NASA is working on a concept crewed mission to Venus 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 20, 2018
The upper atmosphere of Venus is surprisingly similar Earth.

By David Aragorn
Venus’s Atmosphere Is so Violent It Makes the Planet Spin Faster 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- July 12, 2018
Venus’s days may be getting slightly shorter thanks to a bizarre mismatch in the rotations of its rocky body and its thick, toxic atmosphere.

By David Aragorn
Naked-Eye Asteroid and More Can’t-Miss Sky Events in June 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- June 4, 2018
Planetary pairings, a super-bright asteroid, and the astronomical start of a new season offer plenty of reasons to look up this month.

By David Aragorn
ESA eyes Venus mission or space telescope to launch by 2030 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- May 10, 2018
We may soon be on our way to Venus. A mission to our neighbouring planet is one of three finalists in the running to be the European Space Agency’s (ESA) next mission in its Cosmic Vision programme.

By David Aragorn
Venus’ Atmosphere Could Host Acid-Resistant Microorganisms 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- April 5, 2018
In the search for alien life, astrobiologists have turned over all sorts of rocks. For example, Mars has geological features that suggest it once had subsurface liquid water. Scientists have also eyed Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as well as Saturn’s Titan and Enceladus as possible havens for life in their subsurface oceans. Now, University of Wisconsin–Madison planetary researcher Sanjay Limaye and colleagues are dusting off an old idea that promises a new vista in the hunt for extraterrestrial life — the clouds of Venus. According to the team, the lower cloud layer of Venus (altitudes between 30 and 32 miles, or 47.5-50.5 km) is an exceptional target for exploration due to the favorable conditions for microbial life, including moderate pressures (one atm) and temperatures (140 degrees Fahrenheit, or 60 degrees Celsius), and the presence of sulfuric acid aerosols.

By David Aragorn