For the past three years, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been collecting data on our Sun using the gravitational pull of Venus. During its most recent pass, the probe got closer to Venus than it had ever been before. The probe flew only 517 miles (833 kilometers) above the surface and picked up some surprising natural radio signals.
As the Parker Solar Probe was closest to Venus, NASA heard radio signals for seven glorious minutes. And as NASA scientists were trying to figure out what was causing the radio waves, they realized the probe must have passed through Venus's upper atmosphere, known as the ionosphere.
It's an accomplishment they hadn't expected but were happily shocked by. The frequencies reported corresponded to the type of signal emitted by gases in the region. This is the first direct observation of Venus's atmosphere in nearly three decades.
Gearburn said NASA launched Parker Space Probe into orbit in August 2018. Its aim is to learn more about the Sun and the solar winds that emanate from it.
The probe made its third flyby of Venus in July 2020. The flyby uses the planet's gravitational field to help the probe get closer to the Sun.
How NASA Detected Strange Radio Signal From Venus
The ionosphere density was measured using the signals, and the results were compared to previous measurements and estimates. Republic World said NASA took these new radio measurements just after the last solar minimum when the sun is at its least active in its 11-year cycle.
NASA said the atmosphere of Venus is now thinner than it was during the last direct measurement, which occurred during a solar maximum. This pattern has been indicated by other findings and theories, but this is the first direct measurement to validate it. Experts released the study, titled "Depleted Plasma Densities in the Ionosphere of Venus Near Solar Minimum From Parker Solar Probe Observations of Upper Hybrid Resonance Emission," in the Geophysical Research Letters.
"I was just so excited to have new data from Venus," said NASA scientist and Venus expert Glyn Collison in a statement. Even though the probe's mission is based on the sun, he compares this research discovery to hitchhiking, stating that Venus scientists were eager to make use of this serendipitous finding.
In the same statement, Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nour E. Raouafi said that, while the team's primary goal is to research the sun, they will not miss the opportunity to gather science data and provide unique insights into a mysterious world like Venus.
This new study provides an exciting look into Venus. This world is sometimes referred to as Earth's twin despite its climate and conditions being so dissimilar to our own. Venus is devoid of a magnetic field, and its surface temperatures are frigid.
However, this recent discovery demonstrates that the Venusian atmosphere shifts dynamically in response to the sun. Further research will draw on this experience and provide insight into why the universe turned out to be so different from Earth.
The Parker Solar Probe will stay in orbit for another four years. NASA hopes that in that period, it will travel through the corona, the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere, seven times closer to the star than any previous spacecraft.
Below is a link to a recording of the radio signal:
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