Researchers from a major American university have offered a clear explanation for the bright flares seen in Venus’s upper atmosphere. The newest assessment points to meteoric entry as the cause, not storm activity. The finding is reported in a peer reviewed journal dedicated to planetary science.
Astronomers have long watched the planet’s clouds glow with brief, brilliant flashes. Earlier interpretations tied these glows to lightning, but that idea never gained full confirmation. Space probes orbiting and approaching Venus detected bursts of electromagnetic signals similar to those generated by storms on Earth, yet the flashes did not align with simple electrical discharges.
The team quantified occurrences, estimating tens of thousands to more than a hundred thousand atmospheric explosions per year on Venus, far exceeding Earth’s rate. A closer look at orbital mechanics shows Venus travels closer to the Sun in a tighter path, which means cosmic debris crosses its atmosphere at higher speeds and burns with greater intensity. In addition, the dense, reflective Venusian atmosphere makes even small flames highly visible to observers below and above the clouds.
When researchers compared the frequency of recorded atmospheric events with the expected rate of meteor impacts, the numbers lined up closely. This insight could be crucial for planning future Venus missions, as spacecraft might avoid traversing highly charged cloud layers by coordinating trajectories with meteor activity data.
Previous observations had hinted at volcanic processes on Venus, but the latest work emphasizes meteoric phenomena as the primary driver of the observed atmospheric flares, while leaving room for ongoing studies of potential volcanic contributions.