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Structure
and Composition of Atmosphere
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US and Soviet unmanned space
probe visits since 1960s
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Thick atmosphere
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90 times more pressure at
surface than Earth!
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Like being 1000 m deep in
ocean
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Clouds confined to 20 km
layer ~60 km from surface
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20 km thick haze layers above
and below clouds
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Temperature profile simpler
than Earth's
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Sulfur rich atmosphere, very
little water
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Instead of water droplet
clouds, sulfuric acid clouds!
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Acid eats spacecraft
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Circulation simpler than
Earth's because of slow rotation
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Convection driven by cloud
layer
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hot air rises at equator,
cools, falls at poles
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the rest of the atmosphere
pushed by that motion
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Upper atmosphere rotates
around planet in 4 days!
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East to west, pushes on clouds
to make < shapes
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Upper atmosphere winds 220
mi/hr
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Surface winds 3 mi/hr
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slowed by friction with surface
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