Scientists Discovered Ozone Layer on Venus

Astronomers reporting that ESA’s Express spacecraft orbiting around Venus has discovered an ozone layer, high in the planet’s atmosphere, similar to that surrounding Earth and Mars. The thin ozone layer, which is hundred of times less dense than the Earth’s ozone layer.

ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft made the discovery while watching stars seen right at the edge of the planet set through its atmosphere. Its SPICAV instrument analyzed the starlight, looking for the characteristic fingerprints of gases in the atmosphere as they absorbed light at specific wavelengths.

The ESA project scientist for the Venus Express mission told the media:

“This ozone detection tells us a lot about the circulation and the chemistry of Venus’s atmosphere.

“Beyond that, it is yet more evidence of the fundamental similarity between the rocky planets, and shows the importance of studying Venus to understand them all.”

Some astrobiologists assume that the presence of oxygen, carbon, and ozone in an atmosphere indicates that life exists on a planet’s surface.

The new results negate that assumption – the mere presence of oxygen in an atmosphere is now not enough evidence to start looking for life.

However, the presence of large quantities of these gases, as in the Earth’s atmosphere, is probably still a good lead, the scientists said.

“We can use these new observations to test and refine the scenarios for the detection of life on other worlds,” said Dr Montmessin.

I hope the  finding of Ozone Layer on Venus will help refine searches for life on other planets.

Credit : BBC