An ion might be to blame for an almost dry and devoid-of-water Venus. The planet, the second from the sun, is the hottest in the solar system. Its thick atmosphere holds in so much heat, and the surface is blazing enough to melt lead.
But at one point, Venus might have been similar to Earth, a planet with lots of water. A new study published in Nature, found that hydrogen atoms in Venus' atmosphere, needed for water, may have escaped to space.
The find, simulated with computer modeling, might explain what happens to liquid water across the universe.
