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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Craig Stevens, Professor in Ocean Physics, University of Auckland

We landed a camera on Venus before seeing parts of our own oceans – it’s time to ramp up observations closer to home

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 approaching 500°C.

An image of Venus as captured by the Mariner spacecraft during the 1970s
An image of Venus captured from a spacecraft. NASA, CC BY-SA
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