Posted on by Evan Gough

The Atmosphere On Venus Rotates Faster than the Planet, and Now Astronomers Think They Know Why

The planet Venus, as imaged by the Magellan mission. Credit: NASA/JPL

Venus is unique—almost—in our Solar System because it’s what’s known as a “super-rotator.” That means that Venus’ atmosphere rotates faster than the planet itself. Only Saturn’s moon Titan has the same characteristic.

Scientists have been trying to figure out what causes this super-rotation, and now an international team of researchers might have figured it out.

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Posted on by Evan Gough

Giant Streak Structure Found in Venus’ Cloudtops

The large-scale streak structures discovered in Venus' atmosphere. Credit: Japanese Space Agency.

A team of researchers in Japan has discovered a gigantic streak structure in the cloud tops of Venus. The discovery is based on observations of Venus by the Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki. The findings were published in January 9th in the journal Nature Communications.

Venus is unlike any other planet in the Solar System. The entire planet is shrouded in thick clouds of sulfuric acid between altitudes of 45 km to 70 km. This thick shroud has prevented scientists from studying Earth’s so-called “sister planet” in detail. But Japanese researchers are making progress.

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