Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non-existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs would provide novel information about Venus’s atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (~50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth-year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground-based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61-inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction (< 1%) of a meteor’s optical energy is emitted at 777 nm. We use observations of terrestrial meteors and analogue experiments to show that a much higher conversion factor (~5–10%) should be expected. Therefore, we calculate that smaller, more numerous meteors could have caused the observed flashes. Lightning is likely too rare to pose a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell in the clouds of Venus. Likewise, small meteors burn up at altitudes of ~100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds, and also would not pose a hazard.

Super-Earth and super-Venus exoplanets may have similar bulk compositions but dichotomous surface conditions and mantle dynamics. Vigorous convection within their metallic cores may produce dynamos and thus magnetospheres if the total heat flow out of the core exceeds a critical value. Earth has a core-hosted dynamo because plate tectonics cools the core relatively rapidly. In contrast, Venus has no dynamo and its deep interior probably cools slowly. Here we develop scaling laws for how planetary mass affects the minimum heat flow required to sustain both thermal and chemical convection, which we compare to a simple model for the actual heat flow conveyed by solid-state mantle convection. We found that the required heat flows increase with planetary mass (to a power of ~0.8–0.9), but the actual heat flow may increase even faster (to a power of ~1.6). Massive super-Earths are likely to host a dynamo in their metallic cores if their silicate mantles are entirely solid. Super-Venuses with relatively slow mantle convection could host a dynamo if their mass exceeds ~1.5 (with an inner core) or ~4 (without an inner core) Earth-masses. However, the mantles of massive rocky exoplanets might not be completely solid. Basal magma oceans may reduce the heat flow across the core-mantle boundary and smother any core-hosted dynamo. Detecting a magnetosphere at an Earth-mass planet probably signals Earth-like geodynamics. In contrast, magnetic fields may not reliably reveal if a massive exoplanet is a super-Earth or a super-Venus. We eagerly await direct observations in the next few decades.

Super-Earth and super-Venus exoplanets may have similar bulk compositions, but their surface conditions and mantle dynamics are vastly different. Vigorous convection within their metallic cores may produce dynamos and thus magnetospheres if the total heat flow out of the core exceeds a critical value. Earth has a core-hosted dynamo because plate tectonics cools the core relatively rapidly. In contrast, Venus has no dynamo and its deep interior probably cools slowly, potentially due to a lack of plate tectonics. It is not fully known how or if magnetic fields affect habitability, but the size of a magnetosphere might indirectly constrain the habitability of a surface. In this study, we developed scaling laws for how planetary mass affects the minimum heat flows required to sustain both thermal and chemical convection, which we compared to a simple model for the actual heat flow of both super-Earth and super-Venus exoplanets conveyed by solid-state mantle convection. We calculated three critical thresholds for heat flow based on varying the size of an inner core, the rate at which light elements precipitate at the core-mantle boundary, and the thermal conductivity of the core. We found that the required heat flows increase with planetary mass (to a power of ~0.8–0.9), but the actual heat flows of both super-Earths and super-Venuses could increase even faster (to a power of ~1.6) (Figure 1). Massive super-Earths are likely to host a dynamo in their metallic cores if their silicate mantles are entirely solid. Super-Venuses with relatively slow mantle convection could host a dynamo if their mass exceeds ~1.5 (with an inner core) or ~4 (without an inner core) Earth-masses. However, the mantles of massive rocky exoplanets might not be completely solid. Basal magma oceans may reduce the heat flow across the core-mantle boundary and smother any core-hosted dynamo. Detecting a magnetosphere at an Earth-mass planet probably signals Earth-like geodynamics. In contrast, magnetic fields may not reliably reveal if a massive exoplanet is a super-Earth or a super-Venus. We eagerly await direct observations in the next few decades. Published in JGR, doi:10.1029/2020JE006739