In recent years, astronomers have begun to entertain the idea that Venus may have hosted life at some point in its existence.
The planet, which is generally regarded as Earth’s twin in terms of size and composition, may once have hosted oceans of water.
Over the years, more research has also suggested that Venus may have had a climate that might have supported life.
According to a new model of the planet’s evolution, Venus’ atmosphere was never cool enough for oceans to exist.
In a paper released in the leading astronomical journal Nature, astronomers from the University of Geneva revealed that Earth’s sister planet would never have cooled down sufficiently for liquid water to exist.
Scientists believe that any form of water that may have existed on the planet would have been in the form of steam.
We simulated the conditions on Earth and Venus at the very beginning of their evolution, more than 4 billion years ago, when the planets were still molten,” stated Martin Turbet, lead author of the research and an astronomer at the University of Geneva.
Because of the high temperatures, any water present would have been in the form of steam, like in a giant pressure cooker.”
Steam must have condensed into clouds and precipitated as rain for liquid water to form. Venus would have needed to cool down for at least several thousand years for this to happen.
However, without clouds to block the intense solar radiation in the first place, the planet would not have cooled.
Models of the researcher’s climate showed clouds could only have formed early in the planet’s life, and only at night. Consequently, not enough water vapor would have formed for the planet to have had gigantic oceans. Previously, research had suggested that Venus might have had water in the form of steam.