Venus

Two spacecraft flew past Venus recently in a rare double flyby that captured unique imagery and data. This data is now being analysed, but scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) have been able to translate some of it into sounds to let people experience how it would feel if a gigantic planet flew next to them. The ESA shared a video, asking people to “enjoy the sights, sounds and ‘feels' of a Venus flyby”. It said the video showed the round-up of first impressions of the data recorded by the spacecraft so far.Enjoy…

This month appears to be rewarding for skywatchers with a full range of binocular and telescopic sights in the offing. All through September, interesting cosmic events will take place and can be seen over the horizon, according to NASA. The space agency said in its monthly update astronomers and space enthusiasts will have to gear up early as Mercury, the smallest planet in the Solar System will appear low in the west briefly, about half an hour after the sunset. Because Mercury is so small, only slightly larger than…

Earth and Venus are similar in size and location but that similarity likely ends there. While Earth has an abundance of water and life, Venus is dry and fiercely inhospitable. Being closer to the Sun makes it much hotter than Earth. Its atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, which makes the gas appear like liquid near the surface. NASA has planned to explore Venus via two missions in the early 2030s. One of them is VERITAS, which would orbit the planet. And the other, DAVINCI — Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble…

The quest for life on planets other than ours has long held the attention of scientists. But most of their efforts have been unable to conclusively say if life really exists beyond Earth. From Moon to Mars, scientists have launched many probes and missions to uncover the mysteries. Venus, one of the most inhospitable planets in the solar system, too, has intrigued them. Venus has an atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and a surface hot enough to melt lead, which makes it near-impossible to protect life as we know…

What is the best way to make a million dollars in 2022? Many investors are asking themselves this question with markets reeling, looking to make a life-changing investment. What about a boat or a sports car? These high-value assets tend to appreciate with time and are a solid investment with rising inflation. Assets are the best place to store wealth because they appreciate with time compared to fiat currency which depreciates, and it is for this reason that the wealthy continue to grow richer. This article features…

Reducing carbon emissions from roads, railways and shipping requires implementing a range of solutions simultaneously. As far as cars are concerned, cutting the number of journeys altogether (by making it easier for people to walk and cycle and improving public transport), changing the fuel in vehicles and making the most of those vehicles already on the road must all play a part. None of these solutions are sufficient on their own. In 2030, the sale of new diesel and petrol passenger cars…

Through June, sky watchers have had the pleasure of watching all five of the planets that we can see with the naked eye – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn – line up in the sky. And this weekend, the crescent Moon will join them.   Impressively, the planets currently appear in order of their distance from the Sun, from left to right as you scan the horizon: that means starting with Mercury (an average of 58 million kilometers or 36 million miles from the Sun) and ending with Saturn (an average of 1.4 billion…

Whether or not there’s life on Venus is the subject of much debate among scientists, but a new study may close the case. Researchers at Cambridge have analyzed the Venusian atmosphere and found no sign of the chemical fingerprints microbes would be expected to produce – but it doesn’t rule out life on other similar planets.At a glance, Venus seems pretty low on the list of likely places to find aliens. Temperatures on the surface soar as high as 464 °C (867 °F), which is hot enough to melt lead. The atmosphere is made up…

Astronomers and researchers have been in constant search for finding life on other celestial bodies. A team of scientists earlier pointed at the possibility of the existence of life in the clouds of Venus. In 2020, scientists revealed that they had found phosphine gas in the cloud of Venus, sparking speculation about the possibility of life on the planet. Other scientists also explored the chemistry of the evening star and suggested that life on Venus may have developed a sulphur-based metabolism. However, the claims have…

A new and thorough analysis of the chemistry of clouds on Venus has revealed none of the biomarkers indicative of airborne, sulfur-metabolizing life.For now, that means the question of detectable life in the clouds of Venus is pretty much answered. Until we get new information, it's likely to remain that way. The complex chemistry of the upper Venusian atmosphere simply cannot be explained by the presence of life as we know it.  After a team of scientists controversially announced that they had found phosphine gas in the…