Venus is burning at 426°C in the night sky. It's so hot that it can melt lead
India TodayAs Venus hurtles toward its inferior conjunction with the Sun on March 22, astronomers are capturing a rare glimpse of its night side, which is surprisingly radiant. Unlike the Moon, whose night side shines due to Earth's reflected light, Venus's night side glows with its own thermal emission. Maximilian-Vlad Teodorescu from the Institute of Space Science in Romania has successfully photographed Venus using a 1 m infrared filter, highlighting the planet's scorching temperatures. The images resemble a crescent Moon but with a crucial difference: Venus's glow is intrinsic, resulting from surface temperatures averaging 426.67C, hot enough to melt lead. The Akatsuki spacecraft, launched by Japan, has previously mapped Venus's surface using infrared cameras, revealing cooler regions like Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra.
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