On Oct 10, 2:14 pm, baa…@earthlink.net wrote:
- — -
> http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMF8BV7D7F_index_0.html
> New isotope molecule may add to Venus’ greenhouse effect
> European Space Agency
> 10 October 2007
> Planetary scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have
> tracked down a rare molecule in the atmospheres of
> both Mars and Venus. The molecule, an exotic form of
> carbon dioxide, could affect the way the greenhouse
> mechanism works on Venus.
> The discovery is being announced today at the
> annual meeting of the American Astronomical
> Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences in Orlando,
> Florida. Its presence could affect the way the
> greenhouse mechanism works on Venus. The
> mystery began back in April 2006, soon after ESA’s
> Venus Express arrived at the second planet in the
> Solar System.
> A European team including members from France,
> Belgium and Russia lead by Jean-Loup Bertaux,
> Service d’Aeronomie du CNRS, France and
> Ann-Carine Vandaele, Institut d’Aeronomie Spatiale
> de Belgique, were using their Infrared Atmospheric
> Spectrometer (SOIR) instrument to measure solar
> occultations.
> To do this, the instrument watches the Sun set
> behind Venus, allowing the scientists to study
> the way specific wavelengths of light are absorbed
> by the planet’s atmosphere. These wavelengths
> and the level of absorption then give away the
> identity and amount of gases in the atmosphere.
> The team saw an unidentified signature at 3.3
> micrometres in the mid-infrared region of the
> spectrum. "It was conspicuous and systematic,
> increasing with depth in the atmosphere during
> the occultation, so we knew it was real," says
> Bertaux.
> The team kept their discovery confidential as
> they attempted to identify the molecule
> responsible. They thought at first that it must be
> an organic molecule. These molecules contain
> carbon and hydrogen. However, none of the
> known organic molecules fitted well with the
> observations.
> Then, in December 2006, Mike Mumma of
> NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center,
> Maryland, enquired whether the SOIR team
> was seeing anything special on Venus at 3.3
> microns. He had discovered an unidentified
> spectral signature at that wavelength using
> telescopes on Hawaii pointing at Mars. The
> two teams compared the absorption
> signatures: they were identical.
> This was a big clue. Both the atmospheres
> of Mars and Venus are composed of 95%
> carbon dioxide, although Venus’s atmosphere
> is much thicker than the one at Mars. The
> American team suggested that the signature
> could be coming from an isotope of carbon
> dioxide, where one oxygen atom is ‘normal’, with
> eight protons and eight neutrons, while the other
> has eight protons and ten neutrons. Such an
> isotope makes up about 1% of carbon dioxide on
> Earth, the rest contains two normal oxygen atoms.
> However, no one had previously seen the
> molecule absorb at 3.3 micrometres. An
> investigation by three independent groups, one
> led by Mumma in America, Sergei Tashkun and
> Valery Perevalov at Tomsk State University, Russia,
> and Richard Dahoo at Service d’Aeronomie du
> CNRS, France, all came to the same conclusion.
> The signature could be caused by a rare transition
> only possible in the isotope.
> The different weights of the oxygen atoms allow
> the molecule to alter its vibration in two ways
> simultaneously, whereas normal molecules can
> only change one state at a time.
> This rare transition allows it to absorb even more
> energy and so contribute even more to the
> greenhouse effect on Venus. On Earth, however,
> there is 250,000 times less carbon dioxide so its
> additional contribution to our greenhouse effect
> will be small.
> Notes for Editors:
> The findings appear in: ‘First Observation of 628
> CO2 isotopologue band at 3.3 micrometres in the
> atmosphere of Venus by solar occultation from
> Venus Express’ by J-L Bertaux, A. C. Vandaele,
> V. Wilquet, F. Montmessin, R. Dahoo, E. Villard,
> O. Korablev, A. Fedorova.
> For more information:
> Jean-Loup Bertaux, Service d’aeronomie du CNRS, France
> Email: Jean-Loup.Bert…@aerov.jussieu.fr
> Ann Carine Vandaele, The Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
> Email: A-C.Vanda…@aeronomie.be
> Michael Mumma, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA
> Email: Michael.J.Mu…@nasa.gov
> ESA PIO source:
> Monica Talevi
> Science Information Manager
> ESA – Communication Dept.
> Tel: +31 71 565 3223
> Fax: +31 71 565 4101
> Email: Monica.Tal…@esa.int
Thought you folks might be interested. This was posted on sci.astro.
Any chance that this "mystery molecule" could be CO3 in some form?
Realizing that this molecule is short lived in labs here on Earth.
David A. Smith