Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus
Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs, would provide novel information about Venus' atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a p...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of geophysical research. Planets 2023-09, Vol.128 (9) |
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| creator | Blaske, C. H. O'Rourke, J. G. Desch, S. J. Borrelli, M. E. |
| description | Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs, would provide novel information about Venus' atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (∼50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth‐year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61‐inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction ( |
| doi_str_mv | 10.1029/2023JE007914 |
| format | Article |
| fullrecord | <record><control><sourceid>proquest_cross</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_proquest_journals_2869290600</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><sourcerecordid>2869290600</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c263t-3dec4138326bccdc19944be531e645938e43e3d9e73607bcd45483655b12a6943</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNpNUMFKw0AQXUTBUnvzAxa8Gp3d2WyyF6GUWpUUL-o1JJtJk2KTuLs59O-NVMGBYR6Px5vHY-xawJ0Aae4lSHxZAyRGqDM2k0KbyAiA8z8MJrlkC-_3ME06UQJn7GFLgXrn-bY4Tuu_RnJFRbzwPGt3TejabsfbjoeG-DIcej805Ij3Nf-gbvRX7KIuPj0tfu-cvT-u31ZPUfa6eV4ts8hKjSHCiqwSmKLUpbWVFcYoVVKMgrSKDaakkLAylKCGpLSVilWKOo5LIQttFM7Zzcl3cP0U0Yd834-um17mMtVGGtAAk-r2pLKu995RnQ-uPRTumAvIf0rK_5eE30BlVpU</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Aggregation Database</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>2869290600</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus</title><source>Wiley Online Library All Journals</source><source>Alma/SFX Local Collection</source><creator>Blaske, C. H. ; O'Rourke, J. G. ; Desch, S. J. ; Borrelli, M. E.</creator><creatorcontrib>Blaske, C. H. ; O'Rourke, J. G. ; Desch, S. J. ; Borrelli, M. E.</creatorcontrib><description>Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs, would provide novel information about Venus' atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (∼50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth‐year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61‐inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction (<1%) of a meteor's optical energy is emitted at 777 nm. We use observations of terrestrial meteors and analogue experiments to show that a much higher conversion factor (∼5%–10%) should be expected. Therefore, we calculate that smaller, more numerous meteoroids could have caused the observed flashes. Lightning is likely too rare to pose a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell in the clouds of Venus. Likewise, small meteoroids burn up at altitudes of ∼100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds, and also would not pose a hazard.
Artists depicting the atmosphere of Venus love to include lightning bolts to emphasize its hellish environment. Even though missions like DAVINCI would most likely be safe from strikes as they descend quickly through the atmosphere, long‐lived aerial platform missions supported by large balloons floating in the cloud layer ∼50–70 km above the surface might not be so fortunate. Do engineers need to build aerial platforms with the toughness (and thus expense) required to survive a lightning strike? Quantitative estimates of lightning strike frequency are inconsistent based on different forms of evidence. Observations of certain electromagnetic signals, interpreted as lightning in the clouds, suggest a strike rate several times that of Earth's lightning. In comparison, optical flash rates at Venus, as observed at the Mt. Bigelow observatory in Arizona and by the Akatsuki mission currently orbiting Venus, suggest a far lower flash rate. In this study, we argue that these optical flashes were plausibly produced by meteor fireballs ∼100 km above the surface, not by lightning in the clouds. If so, then lightning poses no significant threat to balloon missions in the clouds of Venus. Lightning may still exist at the surface, produced by Aeolian processes or explosive volcanism.
We investigate whether meteor fireballs could have produced the optical flashes that have been detected at Venus and attributed to lightning
We find that flashes from meteor fireballs are statistically likely to occur at the observed rates and brightness
There is no affirmative evidence that lightning is a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell within the clouds of Venus</description><identifier>ISSN: 2169-9097</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 2169-9100</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1029/2023JE007914</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Washington: Blackwell Publishing Ltd</publisher><subject>Artists ; Astronomical instruments ; Atmosphere ; Atmospheric dynamics ; Atomic oxygen ; Balloons ; Clouds ; Earth ; Emission lines ; Eolian processes ; Fireballs ; Lightning ; Lightning strikes ; Meteoroids ; Meteors ; Meteors & meteorites ; Oxygen ; Spacecraft ; Telescopes ; Venus ; Venus atmosphere ; Venus clouds ; Venus surface ; Volcanic activity</subject><ispartof>Journal of geophysical research. Planets, 2023-09, Vol.128 (9)</ispartof><rights>2023. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c263t-3dec4138326bccdc19944be531e645938e43e3d9e73607bcd45483655b12a6943</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c263t-3dec4138326bccdc19944be531e645938e43e3d9e73607bcd45483655b12a6943</cites><orcidid>0000-0002-1180-996X ; 0000-0003-2863-5967 ; 0000-0002-1669-4989 ; 0000-0002-1571-0836</orcidid></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><link.rule.ids>314,780,784,27923,27924</link.rule.ids></links><search><creatorcontrib>Blaske, C. H.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>O'Rourke, J. G.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Desch, S. J.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Borrelli, M. E.</creatorcontrib><title>Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus</title><title>Journal of geophysical research. Planets</title><description>Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs, would provide novel information about Venus' atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (∼50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth‐year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61‐inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction (<1%) of a meteor's optical energy is emitted at 777 nm. We use observations of terrestrial meteors and analogue experiments to show that a much higher conversion factor (∼5%–10%) should be expected. Therefore, we calculate that smaller, more numerous meteoroids could have caused the observed flashes. Lightning is likely too rare to pose a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell in the clouds of Venus. Likewise, small meteoroids burn up at altitudes of ∼100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds, and also would not pose a hazard.
Artists depicting the atmosphere of Venus love to include lightning bolts to emphasize its hellish environment. Even though missions like DAVINCI would most likely be safe from strikes as they descend quickly through the atmosphere, long‐lived aerial platform missions supported by large balloons floating in the cloud layer ∼50–70 km above the surface might not be so fortunate. Do engineers need to build aerial platforms with the toughness (and thus expense) required to survive a lightning strike? Quantitative estimates of lightning strike frequency are inconsistent based on different forms of evidence. Observations of certain electromagnetic signals, interpreted as lightning in the clouds, suggest a strike rate several times that of Earth's lightning. In comparison, optical flash rates at Venus, as observed at the Mt. Bigelow observatory in Arizona and by the Akatsuki mission currently orbiting Venus, suggest a far lower flash rate. In this study, we argue that these optical flashes were plausibly produced by meteor fireballs ∼100 km above the surface, not by lightning in the clouds. If so, then lightning poses no significant threat to balloon missions in the clouds of Venus. Lightning may still exist at the surface, produced by Aeolian processes or explosive volcanism.
We investigate whether meteor fireballs could have produced the optical flashes that have been detected at Venus and attributed to lightning
We find that flashes from meteor fireballs are statistically likely to occur at the observed rates and brightness
There is no affirmative evidence that lightning is a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell within the clouds of Venus</description><subject>Artists</subject><subject>Astronomical instruments</subject><subject>Atmosphere</subject><subject>Atmospheric dynamics</subject><subject>Atomic oxygen</subject><subject>Balloons</subject><subject>Clouds</subject><subject>Earth</subject><subject>Emission lines</subject><subject>Eolian processes</subject><subject>Fireballs</subject><subject>Lightning</subject><subject>Lightning strikes</subject><subject>Meteoroids</subject><subject>Meteors</subject><subject>Meteors & meteorites</subject><subject>Oxygen</subject><subject>Spacecraft</subject><subject>Telescopes</subject><subject>Venus</subject><subject>Venus atmosphere</subject><subject>Venus clouds</subject><subject>Venus surface</subject><subject>Volcanic activity</subject><issn>2169-9097</issn><issn>2169-9100</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2023</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><recordid>eNpNUMFKw0AQXUTBUnvzAxa8Gp3d2WyyF6GUWpUUL-o1JJtJk2KTuLs59O-NVMGBYR6Px5vHY-xawJ0Aae4lSHxZAyRGqDM2k0KbyAiA8z8MJrlkC-_3ME06UQJn7GFLgXrn-bY4Tuu_RnJFRbzwPGt3TejabsfbjoeG-DIcej805Ij3Nf-gbvRX7KIuPj0tfu-cvT-u31ZPUfa6eV4ts8hKjSHCiqwSmKLUpbWVFcYoVVKMgrSKDaakkLAylKCGpLSVilWKOo5LIQttFM7Zzcl3cP0U0Yd834-um17mMtVGGtAAk-r2pLKu995RnQ-uPRTumAvIf0rK_5eE30BlVpU</recordid><startdate>202309</startdate><enddate>202309</enddate><creator>Blaske, C. H.</creator><creator>O'Rourke, J. G.</creator><creator>Desch, S. J.</creator><creator>Borrelli, M. E.</creator><general>Blackwell Publishing Ltd</general><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>7TG</scope><scope>8FD</scope><scope>H8D</scope><scope>KL.</scope><scope>L7M</scope><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-996X</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2863-5967</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1669-4989</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1571-0836</orcidid></search><sort><creationdate>202309</creationdate><title>Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus</title><author>Blaske, C. H. ; O'Rourke, J. G. ; Desch, S. J. ; Borrelli, M. E.</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c263t-3dec4138326bccdc19944be531e645938e43e3d9e73607bcd45483655b12a6943</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2023</creationdate><topic>Artists</topic><topic>Astronomical instruments</topic><topic>Atmosphere</topic><topic>Atmospheric dynamics</topic><topic>Atomic oxygen</topic><topic>Balloons</topic><topic>Clouds</topic><topic>Earth</topic><topic>Emission lines</topic><topic>Eolian processes</topic><topic>Fireballs</topic><topic>Lightning</topic><topic>Lightning strikes</topic><topic>Meteoroids</topic><topic>Meteors</topic><topic>Meteors & meteorites</topic><topic>Oxygen</topic><topic>Spacecraft</topic><topic>Telescopes</topic><topic>Venus</topic><topic>Venus atmosphere</topic><topic>Venus clouds</topic><topic>Venus surface</topic><topic>Volcanic activity</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Blaske, C. H.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>O'Rourke, J. G.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Desch, S. J.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Borrelli, M. E.</creatorcontrib><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts</collection><collection>Technology Research Database</collection><collection>Aerospace Database</collection><collection>Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts - Academic</collection><collection>Advanced Technologies Database with Aerospace</collection><jtitle>Journal of geophysical research. Planets</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Blaske, C. H.</au><au>O'Rourke, J. G.</au><au>Desch, S. J.</au><au>Borrelli, M. E.</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus</atitle><jtitle>Journal of geophysical research. Planets</jtitle><date>2023-09</date><risdate>2023</risdate><volume>128</volume><issue>9</issue><issn>2169-9097</issn><eissn>2169-9100</eissn><abstract>Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs, would provide novel information about Venus' atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (∼50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth‐year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61‐inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction (<1%) of a meteor's optical energy is emitted at 777 nm. We use observations of terrestrial meteors and analogue experiments to show that a much higher conversion factor (∼5%–10%) should be expected. Therefore, we calculate that smaller, more numerous meteoroids could have caused the observed flashes. Lightning is likely too rare to pose a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell in the clouds of Venus. Likewise, small meteoroids burn up at altitudes of ∼100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds, and also would not pose a hazard.
Artists depicting the atmosphere of Venus love to include lightning bolts to emphasize its hellish environment. Even though missions like DAVINCI would most likely be safe from strikes as they descend quickly through the atmosphere, long‐lived aerial platform missions supported by large balloons floating in the cloud layer ∼50–70 km above the surface might not be so fortunate. Do engineers need to build aerial platforms with the toughness (and thus expense) required to survive a lightning strike? Quantitative estimates of lightning strike frequency are inconsistent based on different forms of evidence. Observations of certain electromagnetic signals, interpreted as lightning in the clouds, suggest a strike rate several times that of Earth's lightning. In comparison, optical flash rates at Venus, as observed at the Mt. Bigelow observatory in Arizona and by the Akatsuki mission currently orbiting Venus, suggest a far lower flash rate. In this study, we argue that these optical flashes were plausibly produced by meteor fireballs ∼100 km above the surface, not by lightning in the clouds. If so, then lightning poses no significant threat to balloon missions in the clouds of Venus. Lightning may still exist at the surface, produced by Aeolian processes or explosive volcanism.
We investigate whether meteor fireballs could have produced the optical flashes that have been detected at Venus and attributed to lightning
We find that flashes from meteor fireballs are statistically likely to occur at the observed rates and brightness
There is no affirmative evidence that lightning is a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell within the clouds of Venus</abstract><cop>Washington</cop><pub>Blackwell Publishing Ltd</pub><doi>10.1029/2023JE007914</doi><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-996X</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2863-5967</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1669-4989</orcidid><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1571-0836</orcidid></addata></record> |
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| subjects | Artists Astronomical instruments Atmosphere Atmospheric dynamics Atomic oxygen Balloons Clouds Earth Emission lines Eolian processes Fireballs Lightning Lightning strikes Meteoroids Meteors Meteors & meteorites Oxygen Spacecraft Telescopes Venus Venus atmosphere Venus clouds Venus surface Volcanic activity |
| title | Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus |
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