Doubt cast on Venus catastrophe

[OXO]

Doubt cast on Venus catastrophe

Accepted views of how the planet Venus evolved are challenged by new age dates for its surface.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4815230.stm

James

[FLO]

I don't know about you lot but I am getting quite excited about the prospect of Venus Express reaching its destination next month :toothy7:

1. MAG: Magnetometer - measures magnetic, field strength and direction

2. Virtis: (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer)imaging spectrometer that operates in the near ultraviolet, visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum

3. Planetary Fourier Spectrometer - measures atmospheric temperature and concentration of known and unknown minor atmospheric constituents

4. Spicav/Soir (Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Venus) Imaging spectrometer which detects ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Soir (Solar Occultation at Infrared) will observe the Sun through Venus's atmosphere at infrared wavelengths

5 . VMC wide angle camera which captures ultraviolet, visible and near infrared images

6. VeRa (Venus Radio science) Radio-sounding experiment which will examine the ionosphere, atmosphere and surface of Venus by means of radio waves transmitted from the spacecraft

7. Aspera (Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms) will study energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), ions and electrons in Venus' atmosphere

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4350482.stm