Venus Archives

Astrogeology, Conferences and Meetings, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts

EAI Seminar: Towards Understanding The Geological Evolution Of Venus

by Keith CowingJune 15, 2026June 15, 2026

The next EAI Seminar 16 June May 2026 16:00 CEST (UTC + 02:00): Julia Maia, Archive Support Scientist, Telespazio UK for ESA

An artist's impression of a disk of gas and dust formed during the birth of the sun. Credit: NASA/FUSE/Lynette Cook

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Venus

New Experiments And Modeling On Iron Meteorites Provide Insight Into Young Solar System And Earth’s Building Blocks

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 4, 2026

Habitable planets require life-essential elements, like nitrogen and phosphorus. Understanding how those elements ended up in a planetary body can give insight into the formation of the solar system and […]

This system integrates Akatsuki observation data and AFES-Venus numerical simulation forecast data using the LETKF data assimilation method. The release of ALERA-V, objective analysis data that spatiotemporally reconstructs a more "probable" state of the Venusian atmosphere, marks the world's first open data release of data on the Venusian atmosphere. (Credit: Keio University, ISAS/JAXA)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus

ALERA-V Version 1.0: An Objective Analysis Dataset of the Venus Atmosphere

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

An objective analysis dataset of the Venus atmosphere, ALERA-V version 1.0, has been released. This objective analysis provides the best estimate of the state of the Venus atmosphere produced by […]

Representation of possible evolutionary pathways for Venus to its present state, starting with a magma ocean phase. The top pathway is for the case where Venus lost much of its water inventory early, while the bottom pathway considers an extended period of surface liquid water until the climate was destabilized. Figure reproduced from Gillmann et al. (2022). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Seasonal Insolation Variability On Early Venus: Implications For Energy Budget

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Venus and Earth are similar in bulk properties yet followed dramatically different climatic trajectories.

The path of a fragment ejected from Earth to the clouds of Venus. (a) A life-containing bolide is ejected from Earth's subsurface by an impact event.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report, Venus

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Decades of study have hinted at the astrobiological potential of Venus’s cloud layers. This potential is often cast as stemming from the idea that the Venusian surface was clement in […]

Cloud discontinuity observed on the Venusian nightside lower clouds at a wavelength of 2.26 μm by Akatsuki IR2. Clouds appear as silhouettes illuminated from below, with dark areas indicating thicker clouds. The images were taken at (a) 15:33-UTC on August 18 and (b) 22:03-UTC on 27 August 2016. -- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Venus

Venus’ Atmosphere Jumps And Waves

by Keith CowingMay 10, 2026May 10, 2026

The mysterious origin of an impressive cloud disturbance on Venus has now been revealed by a team including the University of Tokyo. Researchers used numerical models to show that an […]

Model prediction for the water budget of the 4 terrestrial planets

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Mercury, Status Report, Venus

Astrochemical Inheritance of Terrestrial Planets Water from Local Wet Silicates

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 5, 2026

The delivery of water to the inner Solar System rocky planets, including Earth, remains debated, as standard models assume that they formed from dry grains, inside the snowline of the […]

A1. Final surface atmospheric pressure after 4 Gyr of volcanic degassing, shown as a function of mantle oxygen fugacity (fO2) and a. initial mantle CO2 content, b. initial mantle H2O content. Other mantle volatiles are held constant at fiducial values: 450 ppm H2O (Elkins-Tanton 2008), 50 ppm CO2 (Elkins-Tanton 2008), 54 ppm S, and 1 ppm N (scaled to the CO2 content of Earth’s depleted MORB; Ding & Dasgupta (2017); Marty & Dauphas (2003); Le Voyer et al. (2017) respectively). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Venus

Equifinality Of Venus-like CO2 Atmospheres

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 1, 2026

While Earth locks much of its carbon in its crust as carbonates, Venus retains a comparable carbon inventory almost entirely in its atmosphere as CO2.

This image of Venus taken by NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft (left) is paired with an artist’s depiction of three possible atmospheres on a recently discovered exoplanet, Gliese 12b. This new University of Washington study explores how much surface water a planet needs to support life. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Planets Need More Water To Support Life Than Scientists Previously Thought

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2026April 20, 2026

Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet […]

The formation mechanism of the lower haze. Cosmic dust entering from space is incorporated into sulfuric acid clouds. As sulfuric acid evaporates at the cloud base, the dust particles remain and coagulate to form the lower haze. ©Hiroki Karyu et al.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Venus

Cosmic Dust Identified As The Source Of Venus’ Enigmatic Lower Haze

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2026April 17, 2026

Venus, often called Earth’s twin, is in fact a planet of extremes. Beneath its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere lie crushing surface temperatures and dense clouds of sulfuric acid. While the […]