Venus has long been deliberate an almost - solid ground . It is alike in size , has a dense standard atmosphere , and more and more written report point at a water - rich past . While this does n’t imply the major planet was habitable , it does hint that water system could be crucial in the evolution of rocky planet .
In a study put out in theJournal of Geophysical Research Planets , researchers reconstruct detail simulations of the impact of volatile like H2O vapor and carbon copy dioxide on Earth - alike planets . By convert the copiousness of molecules as well as their space from stars , the investigator were able to create a simple-minded agorithm to forecast if a planet develops an ocean or not – and Venus could fit the measure .
patently , they do n’t mean today ’s Venus . Venus is now a diabolical space , with 90 atm of pressure on its Earth’s surface and an average temperature of 462 ° C ( 864 ° F ) . These condition are the consequence of a striking runaway greenhouse effect . However , Venus was a lot different in the past tense .
According to the sketch , the place of ancient Venus come out to be enough to permit for the formation of an sea . Quite a significant sea , in fact . To form it , the planet needed to have water vaporization count about 30 percent of the Earth ’s ocean .
The water evaporation and carbon dioxide may have been liberated by the rock during a molten phase for the major planet . As time passed , more gas escaped the rock-and-roll and the major planet cooled . The cooling is n’t exactly analogue , as the research worker had to take into account the energy a star would give to the planet , but it can be simplified by moot the distance of a satellite from the wiz . That combined with the initial abundance of element is what makes up the sea formula .
Other studiessuggest that Venus might have kept an ocean up to 715 million years ago , although that is also free-base on simulations . We presently do n’t have observation strongly supporting this hypothesis .
Venus ' cloud screen is too deep for direct imagination and radar observations of its aerofoil are also not helpful since strong volcanic events have reshaped it completely . More work will be necessary to support the being of an ocean . Still , maybe billions of years ago , Venus , Earth , and Mars all looked quite naughty with water supply .
