Why the Earth is Not Like Venus

At first glance the Earth and Venus should be similar and have geology with more resemblances than differences. A closer look tells us that it is a very different place.

The longest any lander has survived on Venus is 2 hours. We have been on Earth for rather longer. The surface temperature is about 465⁰C, the atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and there is virtually no oxygen and water.

Orbiters have used radar to look at the surface and conclude that it is mostly wrinkled plains of lava. There are lots of volcanoes and some are very large.

THIS ARTICLE will tell you all you need to know about the place; and comes to the conclusion that the crucial difference with the Earth is the lack of a magnetic field of any great strength.

Most of the lighter elements - especially hydrogen and oxygen - have been lost to space by the action of the solar wind. The atmosphere has been eroded of all its lighter components, leaving carbon dioxide and thus a runaway greenhouse effect.

The Earth's magnetic field protects the atmosphere from the solar wind. It has had a magnetic field for at least 3.7 billion years.