Venus Weather Revealed for the First Time after Several Failed Attempts

Being just one planet away, Venus is relatively close to Earth, and the scientists and researchers, over the years, have been closely studying the planet through the Venusian probe, which reached the planet in the year 1978. However, the scientists knew very little about what the weather is like at night on Venus.

In a newly released study, researchers have planned a new way of using ultraviolet sensors on the Japanese Venus climate orbiter called Akatsuki. Those sensors have found out that there are clouds during the night and some strange wind circulating in patterns.Earlier in a 2015 investigation report on, weather conditions of were revealed partially.

Just like the Earth, Venus also lies in the sun’s “habitable zone,” and it has a solid surface as well as an atmosphere that has particular weather. To understand a planet’s weather, researchers have to study the cloud motion in ultraviolet light. However, while the atmosphere of  rotates rapidly, the planet itself has the slowest rotation of all planets in the entire solar system. It means that days and nights last for quite a long time — for about 120 days each, as per the Earth.

Up till now, only weather on Venus‘ daylight side has been easily noticeable because, even in the infrared light, it is hard to get a vibrant look at’ night side. There have been infrared observations of the “night-time side” of, but these studies have not been able to show the planet’s night-time weather.