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Although it is possible that Mars once supported life, the Earth is the only planet in the solar system known to date. However, a new study notes that Venus could be liveable for a few billion years – until something mysterious happens.
The research, presented at the joint meeting of the European Planetary Science Congress – Planetary Science Division of 2019, states that Venus had potentially stable temperatures and "liquid water" for 2 to 3 billion years, up to 30 years. At a "spectacular transformation" begins to occur more than 700 million years ago, it completely reshaped the planet and resurfaced about 80%.
Artistic representation of Venus with water. Credit: NASA
THE AGE OF THE SATURNE RINGS BEGAN AS QUESTIONS ON EMERGING LIFE
"Our hypothesis is that Venus could have a stable climate for billions of years. It is possible that the near-global resurfacing event is responsible for its transformation from a Earth-like climate to the infernal greenhouse we see today, "said Dr. Michael Way, the # 39; main author of the study, in a statement.
Returning to the present day, Venus has a surface temperature of 864 degrees Fahrenheit. However, in their five findings, Way and the researchers found that Venus was able to maintain stable temperature scenarios between minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) for about $ 3 billion. 39; years.
Something mysterious then caused a massive explosion of carbon dioxide on the planet between 700 and 750 million years ago, an event that, according to Way, could be linked to volcanic activity on the planet.
"Something happened to Venus where a huge amount of gas was released into the atmosphere and could not be reabsorbed by the rocks," Way added. "On Earth, we have some examples of large-scale degassing, for example the creation of Siberian traps 500 million years ago, which is linked to mass extinction, but nothing on this scale. completely transformed Venus.
Venus is closer to the Sun and its extreme surface temperature makes the existence of liquid water on the planet a questionable subject. But during the simulations, the researchers added an ocean of 310 meters deep and 10 meters deep, as well as water in the ground.
There was also a scenario where they used the topography of the Earth and the deep ocean of 1,017 feet, as well as a planet "completely covered" by an ocean of 158 meters (518 feet) deep and finding that even though Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, liquid water could have been present.
WATER DETECTS FOR THE FIRST TIME A POTENTIALLY "HABITABLE" EXOPLANET, SAY THE SCIENTISTS
"Venus currently has nearly twice the solar radiation we have on Earth," said Way. "However, in all the scenarios we modeled, we found that Venus could still withstand acceptable surface temperatures for liquid water."
Whether it's volcanic activity on the planet or anything else, Venus is now too hot to endure liquid water. According to Way, it is necessary to continue research to understand the history of the planet and its impact on the search for exoplanets, including those that may contain liquid water.
"We need more missions to study Venus and get a more detailed understanding of its history and evolution," said Way. "However, our models show that there is a real possibility that Venus is liveable and radically different from what we see today.This opens up all sorts of consequences for the exoplanets present in what is called the" Zone of Venus "actually harbor liquid water and temperate climates."
Earlier this month, scientists detected water vapor in the atmosphere of a "super-terrestrial" exoplanet with potentially habitable temperatures, K2-18b, at 110 years old. light of the Earth.
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James Rogers of Fox News contributed to this story.
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