What is the mass of Venus? Atmospheric Mass of Venus

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The mass of Venus, its density, as well as the presence of an atmosphere are decisive in similarity with the Earth. Due to the fairly close distance to our planet, it is the third brightest object of observation in the starry sky. Therefore, Venus was known even in the period of the emergence of human civilization.

Ancient world and Venus

Such a prominent star in the sky did not go unnoticed in various ancient cultures. There are references to Venus in ancient India. She was called Shukra, after the name of the deity-ruler of this planet. In ancient Egypt, she was called the goddess Isis. In Babylon, she was also called the star of Ishtar.

You've all heard the name Aphrodite, that's how Venus was dubbed in ancient Greece. Historical references to it are also found in the Roman Empire, it was called the planet of Lucifer. There are references in the Muslim world, under the name Ap-Lat, as well as Zuhra. As for the Slavic world, in the annals there is a mention of it under the name Dennitsa or Zarnitsa. As we can see, the history of the worship of Venus goes as far back as the Moon and the Sun.

Lomonosov gave hope to the worldto the "second Earth"

The first proof of the existence of Venus as a planet was realized by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Somewhat later, on June 6, 1761, Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that there is an atmosphere on Venus. On this day, she passed over the disk of the Sun. It was this event that astronomers around the world were looking forward to.

And only the Russian scientist Lomonosov drew attention to the subtle radiance around the planet as it passed through the disk of the Sun. He regarded this phenomenon as the presence of an atmosphere around Venus, on the basis that it is she who causes the refraction of light rays. The conclusion of M. V. Lomonosov turned out to be correct.

The twin planet is indeed very similar to Earth in many ways. The ratio of the mass of Venus to the mass of the Earth is 0.815:1. The diameter of the planet is 650 kilometers less than the Earth's and is 12,100 kilometers. As for gravity, it is somewhat less. One kilogram of terrestrial cargo on Venus will weigh about 850 grams.

Tropics should not be on Venus

Lomonosov's discovery, connected with the presence of a powerful atmosphere near Venus, it would seem, finally confirmed their similarity. But further research, during the space age, refuted the similarity of the composition of the atmospheres of the planets. The opportunity not only to observe it through a telescope, but also to send space probes dispelled dreams of seeing the Garden of Eden on Venus. What was found is fundamentally different from earthly conditions. Our planet has a mixture of basic gases: nitrogen - 78%, oxygen - 21% and some carbon dioxide. In the atmosphere of Venusmostly carbon dioxide, according to some data from space probes, the figure is close to 96%, and about 3% nitrogen.

The remaining gases (water vapor, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, sulfuric acid, inert gases) account for about 1%.

Aggressive and unyielding

In the process of studying the atmosphere of Venus, data on its composition and density were constantly corrected. First of all, this is due to the difficulties in the learning process. The atmosphere of the planet is quite cloudy and is not visually visible. The temperature of the heated air reaches about +475 degrees Celsius, and the atmospheric pressure exceeds the Earth's by 92 times. The density is so high that if you throw a copper coin, it will fall like an object thrown into water. The total mass of the atmosphere of Venus is 93 times higher than the Earth's and is 4.8 1020 kg.

The greenhouse effect has changed everything

The high temperature on Venus was a big surprise for scientists. It is the hottest planet in our solar system, despite the fact that it receives 4 times less heat than Mercury. Only as a result of careful research, it became clear that the high level of carbon dioxide and water vapor caused the greenhouse effect.

Due to the high temperature and the slow period of revolution around its own axis, the planet's atmosphere has an increased air circulation, the wind speed reaches about 370 kilometers per hour. But somewhere at an altitude of 50 kilometers, the speedthe wind gradually decreases, and directly on the surface is no more than 4 kilometers per hour.

The mass of Venus and features of its evolution

Today, the most important and so far unresolved problem is understanding the evolution of Venus in the past, which resulted in its distinctive features, a powerful carbon dioxide atmosphere with an admixture of nitrogen and inert gases and a rather high water deficit.

Venus is a planet whose mass and composition characterize it as a cosmic body of the solar system of the terrestrial subgroup. It also includes Mercury and Mars. But they do not have as similar characteristics to the Earth as Venus. No wonder it is considered the "sister" of our planet. For example, the average density of the Earth and Venus is almost identical and is 5.24 grams per cubic centimeter. In addition, the total mass of Venus is 4.8685·1024 kilograms, which is approximately 0.815 of the mass of the Earth. As you can see, compared to our planet, its "sister" has almost the same mass.

Research to continue soon

For more than two decades, no attempt has been made to explore the surface of Venus. The reasons are quite obvious, its environment is considered the most aggressive among all the planets in our solar system. Lead, tin and zinc on its surface are in a liquid state. As for the pressure, it can be compared to that which is present at a depth of one kilometer under water on Earth. Under such harsh conditions, the equipment being sent simply does not withstand. In 1982, the Venera-13 lander sent to Venusworked for only 127 minutes, after which it failed.

The main problem is that many materials at temperatures around +475 degrees Celsius begin to change their characteristics. One of them is silicon, it is part of boards and microcircuits. At this temperature, its electrical conductivity increases, which renders the equipment unusable.

Scientists will have to work hard to protect and cool the equipment. Despite the fact that the mass of Venus is only 0.18% of the total mass of the planets of the solar system, it remains a unique and interesting object for research.

How much will one gram of soil from Venus cost?

The next point in the study of Venus, which is difficult to implement today, is the sampling of the planet's soil and its delivery to Earth. To do this, as you understand, the spacecraft must leave the planet. And then, when you determine the first cosmic velocity for Venus, the mass of which is close to the earth, you will understand the level of all complexity. The fact is that along with the apparatus it is necessary to deliver fuel so that it can leave the planet and deliver valuable cargo. To calculate the first cosmic velocity, you need to find out what the mass and radius of Venus are. Using these data, after calculations, we get: the speed of the device in order for it to enter its orbit should be 7.32 km / s.

As scientific and technological progress shows, until some time it was considered impossible to launchsatellite into space, flight to the moon, landing of space modules on the surface of other planets, the Voyager-2 spacecraft that left the solar system. Perhaps in the near future, technology will allow not only to explore the planets of our system, but also to fly to distant star systems. Let's hope this becomes a reality for our descendants.