Title:
History of the Discovery of Lightning on Venus and Looking for its Origin

dc.contributor.author Ball, Andrew J. en_US
dc.contributor.author Ksanfomality, Leonid V. en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename Open University. Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2009-01-20T20:17:54Z
dc.date.available 2009-01-20T20:17:54Z
dc.date.issued 2008-06-23
dc.description This presentation was part of the session : Strategic Perspectives en_US
dc.description Sixth International Planetary Probe Workshop en_US
dc.description.abstract Studies of the atmosphere of Venus identified several minor gaseous components whose origin could involve electrical discharges, which produce high pressure and temperature in the discharge stroke. Measurements made by VENERA 11, 12, 13, 14 and PIONEER-VENUS (1978-83), as well as subsequent missions, indicated electrical activity of the atmosphere of Venus, and later of other planets. On 21 and 25 December 1978, VENERA 11, 12 detected a large number of electromagnetic pulses, from measurements by the Groza instrument during descent and on the surface of the planet. A few days later the same phenomena were detected by the OEFD instrument of the late Professor F. Scarf, on board the PIONEER-VENUS orbiter, which registered electromagnetic pulses. The periodicity of groups of pulses detected by Groza pointed to a distant source of the electromagnetic noise. The OEFD instrument registered pulses in low frequency whistler mode. No light flashes were found. Discharges inside Earth' clouds are well visible from outside. However a search for light flashes on the night side of Venus resulted in nothing. The hypothesis of possible volcanism as an origin of the lightning was proposed. A sudden enrichment of the atmosphere of the planet by SO2 was observed by the PV instruments and was tentatively connected with volcanic activity and electromagnetic noises. Later electromagnetic pulses coming from the atmosphere of Venus were observed by instruments of the GALILEO mission (Borucki et al., 1996). The lightning of Venus is unusual. We consider its possible similarity with high altitude discharges. Taiwanese researchers discovered recently huge lightning discharges, which rise as clusters from storm clouds to the upper layers of the atmosphere (up to 100 km). In contrast to normal lightning, these sparkling streams are propagated in rarefied air, occurring in huge clusters, having a height up to 80 km. Their duration was less than one second. It is very difficult to record these discharges. The researchers have also found that four of these streams radiated radiowaves of extremely low frequency. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/26440
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries IPPW08. Strategic Perspectives en_US
dc.subject Venus en_US
dc.subject Electrical discharge en_US
dc.subject Electrical activity en_US
dc.subject Electromagnetic pulses en_US
dc.title History of the Discovery of Lightning on Venus and Looking for its Origin en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Proceedings
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
local.relation.ispartofseries International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW)
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication a348b767-ea7e-4789-af1f-1f1d5925fb65
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
relation.isSeriesOfPublication 6369d36f-9ab2-422f-a97e-4844b98f173b
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