00:00On this day in space.
00:04On January 9th, 1643, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Ricchioli saw a weird glowing light
00:10on the night side of Venus.
00:11He named it the Ashen Light of Venus.
00:14Astronomers have seen it intermittently since then, while others who have looked for it
00:17have not been able to find it.
00:19To this day, no one really knows what causes the ashen light.
00:23At first, people wanted to attribute it to the optical quality of telescopes.
00:27Today many believe that the light is associated with lightning storms on Venus.
00:30It could also be the result of solar radiation interacting with the atmosphere, similar to
00:34how auroras happen on Earth.
00:37Whatever it is, it's been a scientific mystery for centuries.
00:40And that's what happened on this day in space.
Comments