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Venus's lower atmospheric haze identified as cosmic dust interacting with sulfuric acid
Key points
- Venus's lower haze discovered in the 1970s.
- Haze consists of cosmic dust particles.
- Sulfuric acid interacts with dust to form haze.
- Volcanic ash and surface dust ruled out.
Decades-Old Mystery Solved
The yellowish "lower haze" at the bottom of Venus's atmosphere, first observed by Venera and Pioneer Venus probes in the 1970s, remained unexplained for decades. Planetary scientist Hiroki Karyu and his team at Tohoku University in Sendai City, Japan, have now identified its origin.
Cosmic Dust as the Source
The research indicates that the haze is an accumulation of particles from meteorites. "Shooting stars" burning up in the atmosphere leave behind cosmic dust, which then interacts with sulfuric acid to form the haze. Karyu's team used a microphysical model to understand these micro-scale processes.
Karyu stated that the continuous influx of cosmic dust is sufficient to sustain this lower haze layer with the observed particle size distribution. These cosmic particles also act as condensation nuclei, promoting cloud formation in the main cloud deck.
Ruling Out Other Theories
Previous theories suggested the haze might be formed from volcanic ash, given Venus's high volcanic activity. However, the researchers found that volcanic ash is not the source of the haze particles. Surface dust was also ruled out, as it would not interact with the atmosphere's sulfur in the necessary way to form the haze, even with larger influxes.
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Reporting from
Researchers at Tohoku University have determined that the mysterious lower haze in Venus's atmosphere is formed by cosmic dust particles interacting with sulfuric acid. This finding resolves a decades-old mystery first observed by probes in the 1970s, ruling out volcanic ash or surface dust as the cause.