Venus, the second closest planet to the sun,
and Earth's closest neighbor, is not a place where you'd want to spend your vacation. The atmosphere is corrosive, scorching-hot,
and extremely toxic. But recently, scientists have discovered that
millions of years ago, Venus was probably nothing like the uninhabitable, hostile world
it is today! About 700 million years ago, I wasn’t around
then, a mysterious event that occurred may have turned Venus into the place it is now. Admittedly, astronomers can't see the surface
of the planet directly, because it's covered with dense layers of thick clouds. But space missions that’ve been sent to
the hot planet found that Venus is peppered with fire-breathing volcanoes, massive mountains,
countless craters, and gigantic lava plains. The temperatures on the planet are so incredibly
high that they could melt lead. And the atmospheric pressure is so immense
that it would instantly crush any living being reckless enough to set foot on it. If that’s not enough, the atmosphere of
the planet is filled with noxious clouds of sulfuric acid, which smells worse than rotten
eggs. Carbon dioxide (the main component of Venus's
atmosphere), along with the infamous sulfuric acid, create a powerful greenhouse effect. As a result, the lower atmosphere and the
surface of the planet are some of the hottest places in the whole Solar System! But the newest scientific theory claims that
Venus could’ve had a pleasant, stable climate for billions of years before something went
wrong. Astronomers did thorough research and built
a model of a virtualized Venus-like world. This model demonstrated that for most of its
history, the hot planet had oceans with liquid water, adequate temperatures, and stable tectonic
plates. In fact, the planet resembled Earth as it
used to be at the beginning of its life. Scientists suppose that this period of Earth-like
development could’ve lasted for more than 3 billion years! So, during that time, the planet was most
likely covered with oceans, which were from 30 to 1,000 ft deep. Also, some water was locked in the soil of
the planet. On top of that, Venus had stable temperatures
of 68 to 122 degrees F, which - you have to admit - were quite pleasant, and not that
different from the temperatures on Earth nowadays. So, what I'm getting at is that for 3 billion
years, right until something irrevocable happened 700 million years ago, Venus could’ve been
habitable! What exactly made Earth's sister planet turn
into a sweltering inferno still remains a mystery. However, researchers have several ideas about
what it could’ve been. The main theory links the dramatic changes
on Venus with a massive geological event which made more than 80% of the planet resurface. Plus, during this catastrophe, huge amounts
of magma started to bubble up and release tons of CO2 (aka carbon dioxide) into the
atmosphere. Now, when something like this happens on Earth,
rocks absorb most of the CO2 gas and, thus, effectively remove its excess from the atmosphere. But on Venus, it all went terribly wrong. The magma solidified on the surface of the
planet, covering the rocks with a thick, impenetrable layer. And this barrier prevented the rocks from
reabsorbing the CO2. Similar large-scale outgassing happened on
Earth about 500 million years ago, I wasn’t around then, creating the infamous Siberian
Trap, and probably led to mass extinction. But even this event was nothing like the tragedy
that unfolded on Venus. The atmosphere on the planet soon became 90
times as dense as on Earth. It’s no wonder that, combined with enormous
amounts of CO2, it led to a runaway greenhouse effect. As a result, the temperature on the planet
rose up to a staggering 864 degrees F. On top of that, so much solar radiation started
to hit the poor planet that it simply couldn't maintain liquid water on its surface anymore. These conditions obviously wouldn’t have
been particularly inviting for any living thing to have survived on the planet. At the same time, scientists are almost sure
that before that catastrophic turning point, there could’ve been life on Venus. But before the researchers can say for sure,
they need to figure out two important things. First, they have to understand whether the
catastrophe that led to such dramatic changes on Venus was a single event, or a series of
events that’d been happening for billions of years. And secondly, astronomers have to find out
if the planet could have condensed liquid water in the first place. That means further research, and definite
answers will only be possible after more missions are sent to explore Venus. This way, scientists will be able to understand
the planet's evolution and history better. But in any case, the chances are high that
these missions will prove that Venus used to be habitable, and very different from what
it is now. And it’ll open all kinds of possibilities
for humankind! You see, even though the climate of Venus
changed so dramatically, and the planet seems to be totally uninhabitable, scientists don't
deny that one day the hot planet could be transformed again! They say that since the planet had a stable
climate before, there’s a chance that it could be maintained again. And if people did some ecological engineering
there, the changes would probably stick! And how about you? Do you believe that one day, Venus could turn
into a beautiful world covered with oceans? Write about your opinion in the comments section
below! And now, how about some more curious facts
about Venus, one of Earth's closest neighbors! - It takes the light from the sun just 6 minutes
to reach Venus. - This planet has the most circular orbit
of all the planets in the Solar System. - Paradoxically, one day on Venus is longer
than one year. See for yourself: it takes the planet 243
Earth days to make a full turn on its axis. At the same time, Venus makes one revolution
around the sun in 224 Earth days. - Venus has more volcanoes than any other
planet in the Solar System. Astronomers have already discovered up to
1,600 on the surface, but there might be others, too small for people to see. Most of these volcanoes aren't active anymore,
but there are some that could still be bubbling. - The tallest mountain on Venus is Maxwell
Montes. With a height of 29,000 ft, it's almost as
tall as Mount Everest. - Winds on Venus can reach incredible speeds. In the middle cloud layer of the atmosphere,
they can accelerate up to 450 miles per hour! And that's faster than the swiftest tornado
on our planet. - There are no seasons on Venus, and one of
the reasons is the tilt of its axis, which is less than 3 degrees. For comparison, Earth's axial tilt is about
23 degrees. That's why the hemisphere that’s pointed
toward the Sun gets much more energy than the one that faces away. - Venus’ slow rotation causes its magnetic
field to be way weaker than that of Earth. - The hot planet rotates in the opposite direction
of the sun, and most other planets in the Solar System. This phenomenon is known as retrograde rotation. The most probable reason for it could be a
powerful collision with a huge space body, for example, an asteroid. - If you visited Venus, you wouldn't be able
to see the Earth or the sun because of the super-dense clouds that always cover the sky
of the planet. Well hot dang, where’s my credit card, I’m
ready to book my Venus Vacation right now! Um, nah. - Despite scorching temperatures and mega-dense
atmosphere, Venus is often called Earth's twin. More like Earth’s Evil Twin. You see, both planets are approximately the
same size. What's more, the composition of Venus is like
that of our planet. And finally, the orbit of our neighbor is
the closest to Earth's. - Venus is one of the very few planets we
can see crossing in front of the sun. Unfortunately, it happens very rarely. In fact, since people invented the telescope,
they've managed to see the transit of Venus no more than 7 or 8 times. - Venus is the brightest planet in the sky. And, it's the second brightest celestial object,
after the Moon. So Venus used to be a nice place, a lot like
Earth, and now it’s not. Greenhouse gases and stuff gone terribly wrong. Boy, I hope they don’t say that about Earth
someday. Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'll
enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
