Something on Venus is Colder Than Expected

That's not a phrase often used when talking about the second planet from the Sun. "Colder Than Expected". This is Venus we're talking about, the planet where the rain is sulfuric acid, and the surface temperature sits at a rather toasty 900 degrees Fahrenheit. But that's the news we've gotten from the no-longer-with-us Venus Express, whose mission officially ended in December 2014. Hey, it takes a while to get through all the data.

In 2014, the probe ran out of fuel, and as it slowly fell towards Venus, its orbits actually took it through the upper portion of the upper Venusian atmosphere, specifically at the poles. While the probe was down there, the people in charge decided to do some science. The probe found that the upper atmosphere was sitting around -250 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly colder than what was expected. They also found that at heights of 130 and 140 kilometers, atmospheric pressure was 22% and 40% less than expected.

So why is this occurring? Scientists believe it has something to do with the presence of Venus' strong polar vortices, along with strong atmospheric gravity waves.

The scientists also note that the Venus Express trip through the Venusian atmosphere will be useful for the ExoMars probe, which will be undergoing aerobraking when it arrives at Mars.