Astronomers shed light on the mystery of the disappearance of water on Venus

Venus, Earth’s twin planet, has almost no water. Until now, the reason was only partially understood. But now planetary scientists are offering an explanation that comes down to only… one ion!

Venus – the second planet closest to our Sun. We usually talk about it as the Earth’s twin. Both planets actually have very similar sizes and masses. But in reality they are very different from each other. Among all the things that distinguish them is that there is almost no water on Venus. Scientists have been looking for an explanation for a long time. And today, finally, planetary scientists from the University of Colorado in Boulder (USA) seem to have found it. This is written in detail in the review. Nature.

To begin with, let us remember that on Venus there is about 100,000 times less water than on our Earth. To help us get an idea of ​​the situation, the researchers note that if all the water on Earth were distributed over the entire surface of our Planet, the layer of liquid would reach a depth of about three kilometers. The same operation on Venus will lead to the water depth being only… three centimeters!

The ion responsible for the lack of water on Venus.

How is this possible? Although scientists believe that billions of years ago, when they formed, Venus and Earth should have received the same amount of water. Firstly, because at the moment clouds from carbon dioxide (KO₂) to L’atmosphere Venus has activated a powerful greenhouse effect. The temperature rose to an average of 470°C, and all the water evaporated, most of it flying into space.

However, according to astronomersVenus seems even drier than it should be under such circumstances. “It’s like a water bottle that you empty. There are always a few drops left inside. But not on Venus”, say the researchers. And the culprit could very well be an ion with the chemical formula HCO.⁺. Formylium cation consisting of atom fromhydrogencarbon atom and atomoxygen.

Understand the mechanisms that maintain water on planets.

Planetologists explain that in the upper planetary atmospheres, water mixes with CO₂ to form this particular ion. The idea is that it won’t survive long in Venus’ atmosphere. When electrons cross ions HCO⁺In fact, recombination happens – chemists talk about dissociative recombination – and the ions split into two. Everything releases hydrogen (H) atoms, which are removed until they escape into space. And without hydrogen it is impossible to reform water (H₂ABOUT).

The problem is that, according to calculations by researchers from the University of Colorado, Venus must contain significant volumes HCO⁺. It must even be the most abundant ion in its atmosphere. But never before have scientists observed this ion around what we call“Evening Star». “Because we haven’t pointed the right instruments at Venus yet.”, say planetary scientists. Even the mission NASA Da Vinci (Venus’ Deep Atmosphere Noble Gas Research, Chemistry and Imaging) will not be able to detect HCO⁺ in the atmosphere of Venus. But now that scientists know what to look for, the next missions to our second planet solar system may include a special tool. It must be remembered that water is necessary for life. And understand the conditions that support the presence of liquid water inUniverse therefore critical to our search for extraterrestrial life forms.