Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Chemical Vapor Deposition of an Organic Magnet, Vanadium Tetracyanoethylene
Published on: July 3, 2015
Weak, Quiet Magnetic Fields Seen in the Venus Atmosphere
T L Zhang1,2, W Baumjohann2, C T Russell3
1CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Venus lacks a strong magnetic field, but its atmospheric electrical conductivity may be probed using magnetic field fluctuations. Data from the Venus Express mission suggests these fluctuations weaken with altitude, potentially limiting high-altitude sounding but enabling lander-based studies.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Geophysics
- Atmospheric Science
Background:
- Earth's internal magnetic field enables interior probing via magnetic field variations.
- Venus, despite similarities to Earth, lacks a significant intrinsic magnetic field.
- Investigating Venus's interior electrical conductivity may be possible through magnetic field fluctuations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the potential of using short-period magnetic field fluctuations to probe Venus's atmospheric electrical conductivity.
- To analyze magnetic field data collected during the Venus Express aerobraking campaign.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of magnetic field data from the Venus Express spacecraft during its aerobraking phase.
- Examination of magnetic field strength and fluctuation characteristics at altitudes below 150 km.
Main Results:
- Magnetic field strength decreased on average as the spacecraft descended below 150 km.
- Short-period magnetic field fluctuations weakened significantly below 140 km altitude.
- The observed weakening suggests limitations for electromagnetic sounding from high-altitude platforms.
Conclusions:
- Short-period magnetic field fluctuations in Venus's atmosphere are too weak for effective electromagnetic sounding from high-altitude platforms like planes or balloons.
- Electromagnetic sounding of Venus's atmosphere may still be feasible using a lander-based approach.
- Further investigation into lander-based magnetic field measurements is warranted.
More Related Videos
08:57Measuring the Influence of Magnetic Vestibular Stimulation on Nystagmus, Self-Motion Perception, and Cognitive Performance in a 7T MRT
Published on: March 3, 2023
06:27Fabrication of Magnetic Nanostructures on Silicon Nitride Membranes for Magnetic Vortex Studies Using Transmission Microscopy Techniques
Published on: July 2, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Magnetic Field Lines
Magnetic field lines follow several hard-and-fast rules:
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions
Magnetic Field due to Moving Charges
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...
Magnetic Vector Potential
Consider an ideal solenoid with n turns per unit length and radius R. If I is the current through the solenoid, the magnetic field inside the solenoid is expressed as the product of vacuum...
Magnetic Fields
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
Magnetic Susceptibility and Permeability
When diamagnetic materials are placed under an external magnetic field, the moments opposite to the field are induced. Hence, the susceptibility for diamagnets has a minimal negative value of 10-5–10-6. Since...