We landed a camera on Venus before seeing parts of our own oceans – it’s time to ramp up observations closer to home
- Written by Craig Stevens, Professor in Ocean Physics, University of Auckland
Viewed from the Voyager 1 space probe as it passed beyond the edge of the solar system, Earth and Venus might not look too different – same diameter, similar mass and distance from the Sun.
But from a human perspective, Venus is a hostile spot. Its much denser atmosphere enables a greenhouse effect on steroids, with surface temperatures...