But future missions, scientists say, are safe from both rare lightning strikes and meteors known to burn up high above the planet's clouds.
© FutureVenus as clicked by the Akatsuki orbiter in March 2018.
The thick, acid-rich clouds of Venus continue to shroud the planet next door in mystery.
Scientists have long-debated whether
intriguing light flashes recorded by previous Venus missions are evidence of lightning strikes on the planet. If those flashes really represent lightning, future missions to the windy planet need to be designed such that they are strong enough to survive the bolts, which are known to damage electronics here on
Earth.
Moreover, lightning on
Venus means Earth's cosmic neighbor would join the rare planetary club whose current members — Earth,
Jupiter and
Saturn — host lightning bolts in their clouds. Such flickers of light would also be unique on the world in that they'd exist despite Venus' clouds lacking water, a substance considered key in creating electrical charges.
So, scientists are excited by the possibility of lightning on Venus — but the evidence so far has been
circumstantial at best.
And now, a new study suggests lightning might be extremely rare on the planet. Instead, it offers the possibility that meteors burning up high in Venus' atmosphere are very likely responsible for the detected light flashes.