Past April Ryder
| Published
Pictures of Venus are really hard to come by, though ScienceAlert shows that the images we have depict a very dangerous and eerie planet. Although Venus is very similar to Earth in size, composition and density, the other rock from the Sun is far from safe or habitable for human life.
The surface of Venus is tightly wrapped in an atmosphere of toxic gases and acidic clouds. The surface temperature of Venus averages about 867 degrees Fahrenheit (464 degrees Celsius), and the planet’s atmospheric pressure is nearly 100 times that of Earth.
Venera 7 was the first space probe ever to make a successful soft landing on another planet.
Unprotected, a human wouldn’t last more than a few seconds on the planet without imploding or burning up. Thanks to the dense, toxic atmosphere on Venus, the greenhouse effect has taken over, creating a super-hostile place that’s also super-difficult for humans to explore.
Over the years, there have only been a handful of images taken from Venus, and these images were last taken by the Soviet Union, between 1961 and 1984. The Soviets ran a space program called Venera whose main goal was to explore the surface of Venus.
The program was considered a clear success after sending 16 different probes to the mysterious planet and landing eight of the 16 probes on the surface of Venus. Venera was the first program ever to successfully enter another planet’s atmosphere in 1966, and in 1970 Venera 7 was the first space probe ever to make a successful soft landing on another planet.
Of the eight probes that successfully landed on the surface of Venus, Venera 12 was the last to go far before being destroyed by the planet’s hostile conditions. Venera 12 lasted almost two hours before it too was destroyed.
Although Venus is very similar to Earth in size, composition and density, the other rock from the Sun is far from safe or habitable for human life.
Venera 9, 10, 13 and 14 were all able to take panoramic images of Venus while on the planet’s surface. Venera 13 and 14 were also able to pick up sound while exploring the cryptic orb. The video and audio from the planet is truly on par with anything you would see in one sci-fi Film.
The first images of Venus were taken in 1975 and the images produced are inferior to today’s imagery. However, it is easy to see that the surface is very rocky and desolate. In 1982, Venera 13 took some better quality images of Venus’ surface, even showing the ominous yellow hue that shrouds the planet.
Venus gets its golden hue from sunlight filtered through the toxic clouds that shroud the planet’s surface. When Brown University performed image enhancements and extra processing on the old images collected by the Venera probes, it revealed that the rocks and dirt that make up the surface of Venus have a dark grayish hue.
Venera 12 lasted almost two hours before it too was destroyed.
The dark grayish rocks on the surface of Venus are likely volcanic rocks, as the planet is full of volcanoes. You can see the planet’s volcanic horizon quite clearly when you look at the enhanced images captured by the Russians more than 50 years ago. Some of the volcanoes on the planet’s surface are likely still active as well.
Regardless of its hostile environment, studies Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor is beneficial to scientists today. It may be possible to learn some important information about the evolution of a planet by studying the changes seen in nearby planets such as Venus.
#pictures #Venus #scary