Sunspots on Venus?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Graxwell, Jun 3, 2015.

  1. Graxwell Registered Member

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    What effect, if any, would a sunspot have on the surface of Venus? Also, are there any planets/moons in our solar system with raised terrain that could be seen by the naked eye from another planet/moon?
     
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  3. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    I have heard of an hypothesis, that claims the cause of sunspots are the planets themselves...but most cosmologists believe the effects of the planets is minimal.
    Also sunspots are cooler regions of the Sun, that appear dark from Earth as distinguishable from the hotter surrounds, and are a result of magnetic field lines and convection currents.
    Sunspots are associated with solar flares and CMEs [coronal mass ejections] and all can be dangerous to earth, its atmosphere, communications and humans.
    Not sure what effect they would have on Venus, as Venus in uninhabitable as far as we know, and has a surface temperature of around 450C, hot enough to melt lead.
    The answer to your second question would be no. We cannot even see raised portions of our own Moon with the naked eye...other than dark/light areas that may mark boundaries.
     
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  5. Graxwell Registered Member

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    Thanks for your help. But a sunspot would not be visible form the surface of Venus?
     
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  7. Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    If the cloud cover were right, you could see sunspots from Venus with the naked eye; you can see them from earth with the naked eye.
     
  8. mathman Valued Senior Member

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    Don't look at the sun - it would damage your eye!
     
  9. Graxwell Registered Member

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    Do you know what it would look like? I don't have a very good education, sadly...
     
  10. Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    What what would look like? Sunspots from Venus? Pretty much the same as sunspots from Earth, but a little bigger.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  11. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Hi Russ....Just been thinking.....as Sunspots are just regions of the Sun slightly cooler then the rest of the Photosphere, [around 4500K as compared to 5300K] they actually only appear dark as comparison with the rest of the Sun.
    Wouldn't the comparison be less obvious the closer one was?
    Though they would be seen as bigger on Venus, they would also be less obvious, as in the comparison with the temperature ranges.

    https://www.google.com.au/search?q=photos of sun spots&espv=2&biw=731&bih=355&tbm=isch&imgil=WtZGudPsz4MBAM%3A%3BPv5d0b419vUq7M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwattsupwiththat.com%252F2011%252F06%252F17%252Feasterbrook-on-the-potential-demise-of-sunspots%252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=WtZGudPsz4MBAM%3A%2CPv5d0b419vUq7M%2C_&usg=__PdyNwz_p7V-vnQ8RG7ohoEwiwlg=&dpr=2.63&ved=0CDIQyjc&ei=D8pvVc6dLYag8QWByoDgCg#imgrc=WtZGudPsz4MBAM%3A;Pv5d0b419vUq7M;http%3A%2F%2Fwattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F21sunspots-1-6001.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fwattsupwiththat.com%2F2011%2F06%2F17%2Feasterbrook-on-the-potential-demise-of-sunspots%2F;600;300
     
  12. Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not seeing a logical connection there -- why do you think that would be true?
     
  13. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Taking the temperature into consideration, sunspots at 4500K and the photosphere at 5300K, if we were viewing it from a short distance, we may not see any variation. The further away we are, the darker they appear in a relative sort of way. eg; We view gaseous nebula through 'scopes, or even view clouds from Earth as comparitively dense. But if we are up in an aeroplane, that denseness is not that apparent. Just a thought anyway.
     
  14. Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    Still not seeing it. 4500:5300 is the same ratio regardless of distanc.e
    If you fly through a cloud in an airplane, it is pretty much just as opaque as when you see it from the ground.
     
  15. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not referring to the ratio, I'm saying the difference would just show up more plainly, the further one was away from it.

    More like a thick fog,

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    Maybe seeing a forest from a distance, when one may just notice greenery rather than individual trees when closer, may be a better analogy.
     
  16. Daecon Kiwi fruit Valued Senior Member

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    Paddoboy, do you mean in the sense of some kind of "light pollution" effect would make the difference less obvious the closer you are to the sun?
     
  17. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Not really Daecon, simply that the differences in temperatures on those scales, [4500C: 5300C] would [I don't think] be that apparent close up, but more evident further away. still maybe I'm wrong...just a thought.
     
  18. Hipparchia Registered Senior Member

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    So you don't think we would notice Olympus Mons from phobos? That seems rather unlikely. No?
     
  19. Janus58 Valued Senior Member

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    It depends on what you mean by notice. If you mean as seen from overhead, then yes, it would be an object ~3 degrees across. If you mean as a noticeable "bump" on the limb of the planet, probably not. Its height would be just a bit above the angular resolution limit of the human eye, and it has a low angle of slope, so it would be really hard to distinguish it from the normal curvature of the planet.
     
  20. Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    Then I'm still just guessing about why you think that is. You're really not explaining it.

    Sight really isn't mysterious. Whether you can see an object or not depends on its:

    1. Angular size.
    2. Absolute brightness.
    3. Contrast with surroundings.

    For the case we are descussing:
    1. Size increases.
    2. Brightness stays the same.
    3. Contrast stays the same.

    Your forest through the trees analogy, by the way, provides the opposite answer from what you are after. You see the individual trees better from close up because they are bigger.
     
  21. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    I was speaking from Earth.
     
  22. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    I accept the forest/trees analogy gives an opposite scenario, but I'm still of the mind that a difference in temperatures of less than a 1000K would be apparent from closer in. Your point [3] "in contrast with the surroundings" which should become more apparent [I think] from further afield, is what I'm getting at.
    Like I said, just a thought.
     
  23. Hipparchia Registered Senior Member

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    I was definitely thinking about it as viewed from above, or at only a moderately oblique angle. 3 degrees is large, surely. The moon only subtends an angle of about half a degree, I think, and we obviously have no trouble seeing that. I must be doing something wrong in my calculations, as I come up with abut 5 3/4 deg, roughly double your number. That is based on a diameter of 600 km and a distance from the surface of 6,000 km. The summit caldera would also be clearly visible - I calculate its angular diameter as about half a degree (or 1/4, since my numbers seem to be out by a factor of 2). Can you point me to where my error might be?

    The discussion made me think of the comedian who said "Did you know you can see the moon from the Great Wall of China?"
     

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