00:04Astronomers have been watching Venus's epic light shows for years, but they were never 100% sure about what they
00:09are.
00:10The leading theory was just like on Earth, they're lightning storms.
00:13With NASA even announcing the second planet from the Sun has more electrical storms than our own planet.
00:18However, a new study challenges that theory, suggesting that it might be something else entirely.
00:23Lightning is often actually detected by the radio waves it produces,
00:26and both the Cassini and Parker solar probes attempted to collect radio wave data from Venus as they passed it.
00:32There's just one problem.
00:33Despite the ubiquity of the lightning, they couldn't detect any sign of it via radio waves,
00:37which is why researchers from Arizona State University decided to actually count the number of flashes
00:42and extrapolate that data into an annual number.
00:45They found an estimated 10,000 to 100,000 flashes every year,
00:49and that just so happens to be the same estimation of the number of likely meteor strikes on the planet
00:53annually as well,
00:55meaning those flashes could actually be tiny rocks burning up in Venus's atmosphere.
00:59Scientists have long wondered how lightning might form on Venus,
01:02as much of its atmosphere is made of sulfuric acid rather than water vapor.
01:06This new data could be good news for future missions as well,
01:08as experts say lightning strikes could pose a threat to mission critical tech.
Comments