On July 11, 2020, the Parker solar probe flew past Venus for the third time. Each span is needed in order to
One of the instruments on the Parker solar probe is FIELDS: the instrument detected a natural low-frequency radio signal that had not previously been attributed to planetary activity.
Like the Earth, Venus has an electrically chargeda layer of gas at the upper edge of its atmosphere called the ionosphere. These are charged gases or plasmas that emit radio waves: they can be detected by instruments such as FIELDS.
When Glyn Collison of the Space Flight CenterGoddard NASA in Greenbelt, Maryland, and his team identified this signal, they realized that the Parker Solar Probe had penetrated the upper atmosphere of Venus.
Understanding why Venus's ionospherethinning out near solar minimum is part of the clue to how Venus reacts to the Sun. Answers to these questions will help researchers determine how Venus, once so similar to Earth, became lifeless and toxic.
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