science paper

EARTH SEASONS DON'T FIT OTHER PLANETS

Abstract

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[Venus] on the other hand is much closer to the sun. Temperatures are much higher. Venus' tilt is less than three degrees from vertical, but since Venus was found to rotate in a direction opposite to most other planets, scientists list its tilt as 177.4 degrees, almost exactly upside down. This combined with Venus' thick carbon dioxide atmosphere means there are essentially no seasonal changes. The mean surface temperature is about twice as hot as your oven's maximum setting. On top of that, there is no place on the planet to escape the heat, day or night, equator or pole.

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As spring arrives I am reminded of a question I'm often asked, that goes something like this: "What season is Venus (or another planet) visible?" Planet visibility relies on the earth's position and the planet's position relative to the sun. But because planets move at different rates, they don't follow our seasons from year to year.

I suspect this is one way that we earthlings demonstrate our self centeredness by expecting all our experiences to be affected by the seasons. Of course we have four seasons, determined by our location and the tilt of the earth. In school we learn that people in the southern hemisphere have seasons opposite ours. So seasons are not even consistent over the whole planet. How then can we expect the rest of the solar system to follow our earthly cycles? Yet we do, falling into an easy set of expectations.

Are there seasons on other planets? Yes and no. Mars has seasons due to its tilt of less than one degree different from earth. But the red planet's orbit is almost twice as large as earth's, so seasons last about twice as long. Also due to its greater distance from the sun, Mars has temperatures that rarely reach above freezing. Seasonal warming has been known to cause months-long dust storms across the red planet.

Venus on the other hand is much closer to the sun. Temperatures are much higher. Venus' tilt is less than three degrees from vertical, but since Venus was found to rotate in a direction opposite to most other planets, scientists list its tilt as 177.4 degrees, almost exactly upside down. This combined with Venus' thick carbon dioxide atmosphere means there are essentially no seasonal changes. The mean surface temperature is about twice as hot as your oven's maximum setting. On top of that, there is no place on the planet to escape the heat, day or night, equator or pole.

I'm just happy to enjoy the spring of our northern hemisphere on good old planet earth. Spring officially began at 1:26 p.m. March 20. At the same time we can admire Venus and Mars from afar. Find Mars located between the horns of Taurus the Bull in the west as soon as it gets dark. Venus is our brilliant morning star for a while, low in the east before sunrise. One of the marvels of the universe is that the more we examine it the more we confront the unexpected.

Maness is the director of astronomy at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. Nature Notes is a bi-weekly column. You can access the museum's Web site at www.valivingmuseum.org. *

Illustration

Photos (b&w) courtesy of The Virginia Living Museum; Caption: Right now, Venus is our bright morning star. Admire Mars this spring. Logo (b&w) Virginia Living Museum

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