Scientists are puzzled by unusual occurrences on Venus where the planet is emitting various gases, including carbon and oxygen, into space at high speeds, as reported by Newsweek.

A study in Nature Astronomy reveals that these gases are escaping Venus’s gravitational pull at such velocities that they were detected by the European-Japanese BepiColombo space mission.

Lina Hadid, a researcher at the Plasma Physics Laboratory at France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the study’s author, commented, “This marks the first observation of positively charged carbon ions escaping Venus’ atmosphere.”

Unlike Earth, which is shielded by its magnetic fields that protect its atmosphere from solar winds, Venus lacks such protection due to its cooler core.

Venus does, however, form an “induced magnetosphere” when charged solar winds interact with its atmosphere and ionize particles.

The BepiColombo spacecraft, during its 2021 flyby that lasted 90 minutes, observed this peculiar activity.

Hadid noted, “These ions are typically slow-moving and heavy, so we’re still working to understand what mechanisms are causing this. It could be an electrostatic ‘wind’ lifting them off the planet, or they might be accelerated through centrifugal processes.”

Scientists now see this phenomenon as vital for understanding Venus’s evolution.

The planet’s atmosphere is primarily composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen, with traces of other gases like oxygen and sulfur dioxide.

Once considered Earth-like millions of years ago, Venus’s extreme temperatures now exceed 864 degrees Fahrenheit.