Unlike Earth, Venus does not possess an intrinsic magnetic field in its core. Instead, a weak, comet-shaped ‘induced magnetosphere’ forms around the planet due to the interaction between charged particles from the sun (solar wind) and electrically charged particles in Venus’s upper atmosphere. Surrounding the magnetosphere is a region called the ‘magnetosheath,’ where the solar wind is slowed and heated.
In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have detected the escape of carbon and oxygen ions from a previously unexplored region of Venus’s magnetic environment. This finding, published in Nature Astronomy, reveals that these heavy ions are being accelerated to velocities surpassing Venus’s gravitational pull, providing valuable insights into the planet’s atmospheric evolution and the loss of its historical water content.