Word: venusians
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...what lies unseen beneath the thick Venusian shroud that continues to fascinate scientists. Said Stanford Ra dar Astronomer H. Taylor Howard...
Venera confirmed readings by earlier Soviet and U.S. missions indicating that the temperature on the surface of Venus is about 880° F-hot enough to melt lead. The spacecraft also revealed that Venusian surface material is only about half the density of soil on earth...
Most of the Venusian hemisphere facing the earth was in darkness when Venera 8 arrived, but the Russians managed to land their spacecraft in the narrow crescent that was illuminated by the sun. With the aid of Venera's photometer, Soviet scientists could determine that about two-thirds of the solar radiation striking Venus penetrates the thick cloud cover and reaches the surface. Thus there is a long (about 116 earth days) period of daylight as well as a lengthy nighttime on the surface of Venus, which revolves on its axis only once every 243 earth days. Surprisingly...
Passing through that atmosphere on the way to its landing, Venera detected traces of ammonia, confirming earlier observations made by earth-based telescopes. By tracking Venera's descent, the Russians also measured Venusian winds of 110 m.p.h. at an altitude of 30 miles, comparable to the speed of the earth's jet streams. Near the surface, however, they clocked winds of only about four m.p.h. Some scientists believe that the winds are stirred up by Venus' rotation, since they seem to blow only in the direction of the planet's spin...
Because it is the second planet from the sun, Venus is exposed to about twice as much solar radiation as the earth. But this proximity alone does not account for the high Venusian temperature. While its carbon-dioxide atmosphere lets in the sun's radiation, it also keeps in the heat (infrared rays) given off from the planet's surface, thus creating a "greenhouse effect." Furthermore, as the temperature rises, more carbon dioxide is boiled into the atmosphere, only to increase the effect...