Tag: Planetary Atmospheres
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Five Venus Missions That Could Launch in the Next Decade to Study Earth’s ‘Evil Twin’
Why Venus matters for planetary science The planet most often called Earth’s “evil twin” sits closer to the Sun and endures extreme heat, crushing atmospheric pressure, and a dense, sulfuric haze. Studying Venus helps scientists understand why a world so similar in size and composition evolved into a scorching, waterless environment. With Akatsuki now quiet,…
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6,000 and Counting: The Next 30 Years in the Exoplanet Hunt
From a Census to a Quest for Earth-Like Worlds The tally of confirmed exoplanets recently surpassed 6,000, marking a milestone in humanity’s ongoing quest to understand worlds beyond our solar system. Yet for all the numbers, the field’s real excitement lies in what comes next: a shift from sheer discovery to the deep characterization of…
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Reimagining Venus Clouds: Water-Rich Hydrates Rewrite a Planet’s Atmospheric Tale
New Look at an Old Mission Fifty years after NASA’s Pioneer Venus mission descended through Venus’ clouds, researchers have revisited the mission’s mass spectrometry data with modern techniques and a fresh hypothesis. The result: Venus’ cloud decks may be far more water-rich than previously believed, with water largely bound in hydrated minerals rather than existing…
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Identification of Methane Absorption Features in Titan’s Spectra
Introduction to Titan and Its Atmosphere Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is a fascinating object of study in planetary science due to its thick atmosphere and the presence of methane (CH4). As the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere, Titan provides a unique opportunity to study complex atmospheric chemistry. Understanding methane absorption…