What is the mass of Venus? Mass of the atmosphere of Venus

The mass of Venus, its density, as well as the presence of the atmosphere are determinative in similarity to the Earth. Because of 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.

The Ancient World and Venus

Such a notable star in the sky has not been left without attention in various ancient cultures. There are references to Venus in the ancient India. She was called Shukra, by the name of the deity-ruler of this planet. In ancient Egypt, it was called the goddess Isis. In Babylon, she was nicknamed Ishtar. You all heard the name of Aphrodite, that's how Venus was christened in ancient Greece. Historical references to it are also found in the Roman Empire, it was called the planet of Lucifer. There are mentions in the Muslim world, under the name Ap-Lat, and also Zuhra. As for the Slavic world, in the annals there is a mention of it under the name of Dennitsy or Zarnitsy. As we can see, the history of worship of the cult of Venus goes to the depths of centuries, as well as the Moon and the Sun.

Lomonosov gave hope to the world for a "second Earth"

The first proof of the existence of Venus as a planet was realized by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Later, on June 6, 1761, Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that there is an atmosphere on Venus. On this day, it passed through the disk of the Sun. It was this event that the astronomers of the whole world waited impatiently for. And only the Russian scientist Lomonosov drew attention to the subtle radiance around the planet as it passed through the disk of the Sun. This phenomenon he regarded as the presence of an atmosphere around Venus, on the basis of the fact that it causes refraction of light rays. The conclusion of MV Lomonosov turned out to be correct.

The twin planet is really 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 the force of gravity, it is somewhat less. One kilogram of earth's cargo on Venus will weigh about 850 grams.

Tropics should not be on Venus

The discovery of Lomonosov, connected with the presence of Venus's powerful atmosphere, it would seem, finally confirmed their similarity. But further studies, during the space age, have refuted the similarity of the composition of planetary atmospheres . The possibility not only to watch it through a telescope, but also to send space probes dispelled the dreams of seeing a garden of paradise on Venus. What was discovered is radically different from terrestrial conditions. Our planet has a mixture of basic gases: nitrogen - 78%, oxygen - 21% and a little carbon dioxide. In the atmosphere of Venus, mainly carbon dioxide, according to some cosmic probe data, the indicator is close to 96%, and also about 3% of nitrogen. The remaining gases (water vapor, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, sulfuric acid, inert gases) account for about 1%.

Aggressive and stubborn

In the process of studying the atmosphere of Venus, the data on its composition and density were constantly updated. First of all, this is due to the difficulties in the learning process. The atmosphere of the planet is cloudy enough and is not visually visible. The temperature of the heated air reaches about +475 degrees Celsius, and the atmospheric pressure is 92 times higher than the Earth's. The density is so high that if you throw a copper coin, it will fall like an object thrown into the water. The total mass of the atmosphere of Venus is 93 times higher than that of the Earth and is 4.8 · 10 ²⁰ kilograms.

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 a large level of carbon dioxide and water vapor caused the greenhouse effect. Due to the high temperature and slow period of circulation around its own axis, in the atmosphere of the planet there is an increased air circulation, the wind speed reaches about 370 kilometers per hour. But somewhere at an altitude of 50 kilometers the wind speed gradually decreases, and directly on the surface is no more than 4 kilometers per hour.

The mass of Venus and the features of its evolution

Today, the most important and still unresolved problem is the understanding of the course of the evolution of Venus in the past, as a result of which its distinctive features developed, a powerful carbon dioxide atmosphere with an admixture of nitrogen and inert gases and a sufficiently high water deficit.

Venus is a planet whose mass and composition characterize it as the cosmic body of the solar system of the terrestrial subgroup. It also includes Mercury and Mars. But they have not so similar characteristics with the Earth as Venus. It is not for nothing that she is considered a "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 · 10 ²⁴ kilograms, which is approximately 0.815 of the mass of the Earth. Apparently, compared with our planet, its "sister" has almost the same mass.

Research will soon continue

For more than two decades, no attempts have been made to explore the surface of Venus. The reasons are fairly obvious, its environment is considered the most aggressive among all the planets of our solar system. Lead, tin and zinc on its surface are in a liquid state. As for the pressure, it can be compared with what is present at a depth of one kilometer under the water on Earth. Under such harsh conditions, the equipment simply can not stand. In 1982, the descent vehicle Venus-13 sent to Venus worked only 127 minutes, after which it went down.

The main problem is that many materials at a temperature around +475 degrees Celsius begin to change their characteristics. One of them is silicon, it is a part of boards and microcircuits. At this temperature, it increases electrical conductivity, which leads to useless equipment. Scientists will have to work hard to protect and cool 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 currently difficult to implement, is the removal of the earth from the planet and its delivery to Earth. For this, as you understand, the spacecraft must leave the planet. And then, when you determine the first cosmic velocity for Venus, whose mass is close to the Earth's, you will understand the level of all complexity. The fact is that together with the apparatus it is necessary to deliver fuel so that it can leave the planet and deliver a valuable cargo. To calculate the first cosmic velocity, you need to find what the mass and radius of Venus are. Using these data, after calculations, we get: the speed of the device to make it into its orbit should be 7.32 km / s.

As the scientific and technological progress shows, until some time the launch of the satellite into space, the flight to the moon, the landing of space modules on the surface of other planets, the space vehicle Voyager-2, which left the solar system, were considered unrealizable. Perhaps in the near future, technologies will allow us not only to explore the planets of our system, but also to fly to distant star systems. Let's hope that this will become the reality of our descendants.