NEW research has suggested that flashes of light on Venus may be meteors burning up on the hot planet instead of lightning.
The flashes of light have left scientists stumped for some time leaving many to just accept the lightning theory, but data pointed others in a new direction for what it could be.
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A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets by researchers out of Arizona State University concluded after looking over data that the flashes of light could be meteors.
In the past, scientists have figured it would be lighting on Venus due to the clouds being made up of sulfuric acid which is needed for lightning on Earth instead of mostly made up of water vapor.
But Nasa’s Cassini probe “searched for but failed to find radio signals from lightning,” according to a paper, per Futurism.
The study also believes that people’s views of Venus have been tainted by depictions of the planet in art that have used lightning to emphasize the intense environment.
“Artists depicting the atmosphere of Venus love to include lightning bolts to emphasize its hellish environment,” the study said.
The scientists overlooked the level of energy coming from the flashes of light using magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras.
The level of energy they recorded correlated with multiple smaller meteoroids entering the atmosphere of the planet.
The flashes of light would be caused by the meteors burning up as they reach the 900 degrees Fahrenheit planet.
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“We calculate that smaller, more numerous meteoroids could have caused the observed flashes,” the study said.
“Small meteoroids burn up at altitudes of ∼100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds.”
