Editing 2258: Solar System Changes
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Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars. | Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars. | ||
− | In the 17th and 18th centuries, some astronomers (most notably Giovanni Cassini) claimed to have found a | + | In the 17th and 18th centuries, some astronomers (most notably Giovanni Cassini) claimed to have found a moon of Venus, but that was later determined to be an illusion. |
Note that, due to the retrograde spin of Venus, any prograde-orbiting moon would inspiral due to tidal drag (the same effect causing the Moon to slowly move away from the Earth). It is unknown whether Venus used to have moons that were destroyed by this mechanism (possibly passing through a ring state in the process). | Note that, due to the retrograde spin of Venus, any prograde-orbiting moon would inspiral due to tidal drag (the same effect causing the Moon to slowly move away from the Earth). It is unknown whether Venus used to have moons that were destroyed by this mechanism (possibly passing through a ring state in the process). |