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Why has Venus's atmosphere not been stripped away by solar wind?

Astronomy Asked by called2voyage on September 28, 2021

This answer on Space Exploration to a question about Mars says that one reason Mars has such a thin atmosphere is because it lacks a magnetic field to protect it from the effect of double solar winds.

Here MBR explains that Venus does not have a magnetic field.

Venus-atmopshere

Image credit: ESA

If this is the case, then why has Venus’s atmosphere not been stripped away by solar wind like that of Mars?

2 Answers

Venus has a strong ionosphere that protects it against violent solar winds. So, even though Venus has no intrisic magnetic field, it has an effective, induced magnetic field due to the interaction between the solar winds and the atmosphere, that protects it against solar winds.

Venus atmosphere is thick enough to have a consequent ionosphere, that would be the difference between Mars and Venus (and Venus was able to keep a thicker atmosphere due to its greater mass, contrary to Mars).

Sources:

Correct answer by MBR on September 28, 2021

A major factor, is that Venus' volcanoes are still active. Mars's died millions of years ago. If they were still erupting, then Mars' atmosphere would be much thicker today.

Edit: This may actually be true as referenced by a paper published July 20 2020 cited below.

Gülcher, A.J.P., Gerya, T.V., Montési, L.G.J. et al. Corona structures driven by plume–lithosphere interactions and evidence for ongoing plume activity on Venus. Nat. Geosci. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0606-1

Also see in Phys.org:

Answered by JDL on September 28, 2021

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