Venus Science Options

[ljk4-1]

Sunspot, NM (Feb. 7, 2006) -- The planet Venus is best known for the thick layers of clouds that veil its surface from view by telescopes on Earth. But the veil has holes, and a New Mexico State University scientist plans on using a solar telescope to peer through them to study the weather on Venus.

"Observations of Venus from a nighttime telescope at a single location are very difficult because Venus is so close to the Sun in the sky," said Dr. Nancy Chanover, a planetary scientist at NMSU in Las Cruces, NM. "You can observe it for about two hours at most." Then the Sun rises and blinds the telescope (or Venus sets, depending on the time of year).

http://www.nso.edu/press/venus06/

[ljk4-1]

Sunspot, NM (Feb. 7, 2006) -- The planet Venus is best known for the thick layers of clouds that veil its surface from view by telescopes on Earth. But the veil has holes, and a New Mexico State University scientist plans on using a solar telescope to peer through them to study the weather on Venus.

"Observations of Venus from a nighttime telescope at a single location are very difficult because Venus is so close to the Sun in the sky," said Dr. Nancy Chanover, a planetary scientist at NMSU in Las Cruces, NM. "You can observe it for about two hours at most." Then the Sun rises and blinds the telescope (or Venus sets, depending on the time of year).

http://www.nso.edu/press/venus06/

VENUSIAN HEAT

- Filter Problems Hamper Venus Observations

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Filter_P...servations.html

Sunspot, NM (SPX) Feb 13, 2006 - Instrument problems have kept the team at the
Dunn Solar Telescope from observing the planet Venus as they had hoped.

"The filter on our infrared camera is leaking thermal radiation and keeping us from
observing the planet," said Nancy Chanover, principal investigator from New
Mexico State University.

[ljk4-1]

Science/Astronomy:

* Planetary Protection Study Group Mulls Life On Venus

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060221_venus_life.html

A special study group has advised NASA that Venus is far too hellish of a world
for life to exist on or below the planet's surface. Furthermore, while the
potential for life in the clouds of Venus can't be ruled out, the expert panel
gauged this possibility as extremely low.

[JRehling]

A special study group has advised NASA that Venus is far too hellish of a world
for life to exist on or below the planet's surface. Furthermore, while the
potential for life in the clouds of Venus can't be ruled out, the expert panel
gauged this possibility as extremely low.

Well, the lava-drinkers who have built glorious cities all over Venus will be surprised to hear this.

Aside from the acid problem, and the finite nutrition in a droplet, the problem with cloud-life, on Venus or elsewhere is that turnover will lead individual droplets to undergo harsh temperature changes.

The usual issue with life and extreme conditions is that it's one thing for life to originate in an accomodating niche and spread/adapt to a harsher one, but another for it to originate in a place with narrow margins. The best hope for life in the Venusian clouds would be if it once existed on the surface, before Venus lost its H2O and gained its CO2 and heat (if there was a time before that), spread to the clouds, and adapted to the massive changes that took place in the meantime. This seems less likely than fossilized life on Mars, but any attempt to prove that mathematically would require some assumptions with little basis in fact.

[ljk4-1]

I also get a small thrill out of looking at a planet in the night sky
and knowing that one of humanity's probes is there exploring it
at that very moment.

I particularly recall when Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars on
July 4, 1997. I was outdoors watching a fireworks display when
between the artificial explosions I could see the Red Planet
shining fairly bright in the dark sky. And I knew right at that
moment that the first machine in 21 years was just getting
down to business on that world.

Now we can do the same for Venus and Venus Express:

NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO SEE VENUS THIS YEAR

Astronomy Magazine Press Release

WAUKESHA, WI — The “morning star” Venus lights the sky before dawn,
heralding spring’s arrival. On March 25, the brilliant planet reaches
its greatest western elongation — when the planet is as far west of
the Sun as possible. Then, it sits just above the horizon in the
east-southeast sky 2 hours before sunrise. Look for the waning
crescent Moon passing to the right of the “morning star.” Venus will
be the bright object just to the upper left of the Moon.

Each day thereafter, Venus’ sky position sinks closer to the horizon.
Venus shone at its brightest, magnitude –4.6, in February, but the
planet will dominate the morning sky throughout summer.

Take a Look

To the naked eye, Venus’ light rivals only moonshine in the early
morning sky. But you can use a telescope to watch as the planet
changes phases, like the Moon’s, during the year. By March 25, its
globe measures 25" through a telescope and has fattened to half-lit.
It’s at its brightest for the year now; even though the phase
increases, its angular size decreases as the Earth-Venus distance
increases.

Venus’ Orbit

Our “sister planet” lies an average of 67 million miles (108 million
kilometers) from the Sun. Because Venus lies closer to the Sun than
Earth, it always appears close to our star in the sky.

On March 26, Venus and the Moon help you spot a rarely seen planet:
Neptune. At about 5 a.m. local time, Venus appears slightly north of
(above) Neptune. The Moon lies just below and to the left of the
planets.

Quick Facts

- Venus orbits the Sun in 225 days.

- The planet is about 7,521 miles (12,104 km) in diameter, or 95
percent the size of Earth.

- Venus spins on its axis once every 243 days, but it spins in the
opposite direction of Earth — on Venus, the Sun rises in the west
and sets in the east.

- Venus’ atmosphere is thick sulfuric-acid clouds, which reflect
sunlight extremely well.

- The surface temperature on Venus can approach 900º Fahrenheit (482º
Celsius); it’s the hottest place in the solar system after the Sun.

- In Roman mythology, Venus was identified with the goddess of love
and beauty, Aphrodite. To the ancient Mayans, Venus was the patron
planet of warfare called Kukulcan (the feathered serpent).

Also in the Sky

- Throughout March — Saturn lies high in the southeast. An hour after
sunset, the ringed planet shines at magnitude 0 and stands among the
faint stars of Cancer the Crab.

- Through the end of March — Jupiter can be spotted in the southwest
sky in the predawn sky.

- Wednesday, March 29 — A total solar eclipse darkens the sky over
northern Africa and Asia. Astronomy magazine is leading two tour
groups through the eclipse path. Visit Astronomy.com for special
coverage.