Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Physical Chemistry

Venus Has A Thin Ozone Layer

Earth’s neighbor is third planet discovered with O3 in its atmosphere

by Elizabeth K. Wilson
October 17, 2011 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 89, Issue 42

Results from the European Space Agency’s spacecraft show that the second planet from the sun has a thin ozone layer high above its surface. Until now, only Earth and Mars were known to have ozone layers. The results were presented earlier this month at a joint meeting of the European Planetary Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences, which was held in Nantes, France. Venus’ ozone layer, like that of Mars, is very thin compared with Earth’s. Scientists have pondered the source of planetary ozone layers, knowing in the case of Earth that ozone has been produced from oxygen emitted by microbes and plants. However, Venus’ ozone layer is 100 to 1,000 times thinner and four times higher than Earth’s—far too tenuous to be produced biologically. In the case of Venus and Mars, it’s believed ozone is formed during the photochemical breakup of CO2 molecules. “This ozone detection tells us a lot about the circulation and the chemistry of Venus’ atmosphere,” Håkan Svedhem, project scientist for the Venus Express mission, said in a press release.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.