Wind speeds on Venus exceed 100 meters per second, a speed that would defeat the strongest Category 5 hurricane on Earth. But what is strange is that its atmosphere rotates sixty times faster than the planet itself, in a unique phenomenon that scientists call “super rotation.”

While Venus takes 243 Earth days to revolve around itself, its atmosphere makes a complete revolution around the planet in only 4 days.

According to the study published in the journal AGU Advances, a daily cycle of atmospheric tides, fueled by the heat of the sun, is responsible for this incredible speed.

The research team, led by Dr. Dexin Lai from the University of Science and Technology of China, relied on data collected over a period of 16 years (2006-2022) from the European “Venus Express” probe and the Japanese “Akatsuki” probe, in addition to advanced digital simulations of Venus’ atmosphere.

The phenomenon of super-rotation of the atmosphere has long puzzled scientists, but a recent study revealed that the main reason lies in the effect of the sun’s heat. When the sun heats one side of the planet, it creates what looks like tides in the atmosphere, as the hot air expands on the day side and moves to the night side.

It was previously believed that weather changes that occur twice a day were the main driver, but the new results found that the single daily tidal cycle plays the largest role in driving these enormous winds. It acts as a giant pump that transfers energy to the tops of the dense clouds that cover the planet, fueling the continuity of these super winds.

This discovery not only illuminates our understanding of Venus, but also opens a window to understanding the behavior of the atmospheres of other slow-rotating planets.

Although questions remain, we are one step closer to unraveling one of our solar system’s greatest mysteries.

Source: Space