Can Venus be swallowed by space weather explosion!

Image
IANS New York
Last Updated : Feb 21 2014 | 11:30 AM IST

When you pray to God for giving us life, include the earth's magnetic field too!

Yes. This is the magnetic field that saves us from planet-sized giant explosions that can gobble up the entire human race!

But Venus - a barren, inhospitable planet with an atmosphere so dense that spacecraft landing there are crushed within hours - is not that lucky as it has no magnetic field.

NASA researchers recently discovered a planet-sized space weather explosion on Venus.

Called hot flow anomalies, these can be so large at Venus that they're bigger than the entire planet and they can happen multiple times a day.

"Not only are they gigantic but as Venus doesn't have a magnetic field to protect itself, the hot flow anomalies happen right on top of the planet. They could swallow the planet whole," said Glyn Collinson, a space scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Venus's only protection from the solar wind is the charged outer layer of its atmosphere called the ionosphere.

The hot flow anomalies may create dramatic, planet-scale disruptions, possibly sucking the ionosphere up and away from the surface of the planet.

Earth is protected from the constant streaming solar wind of radiation by its magnetosphere.

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Feb 21 2014 | 11:12 AM IST

Next Story