▶ Your Answer :
[Ashen Light of Venus]
In the reading passage there are three
theories that provide support for the author’s claim that explains the cause of
ashen light of Venus. However, the professor contradicts the author’s arguments
giving several reasons.
First, the professor insists that it is
impossible that the ashen light results from a chemical process in Venus’s
atmosphere. He argues that the light emitted by recombination of carbon
monoxide into carbon dioxide is incredibly faint, thus cannot be observed by
the simple telescope which the astronomers used. Hence, the ashen light must be
caused by something else. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that
the ashen light is emitted by the decomposition of carbon dioxide due to solar
radiation followed by recombination of carbon monoxide through their drift into
the cool and dark side of the planet.
Second, the professor contends that it is
highly unlikely that the ashen light is sunlight reflected off Venus’s clouds.
Since this natural light occurs rarely on Venus, yet the planet is exposed
constantly to sunlight. Therefore, the ashen light should be much more
frequently if the sunlight were the source of the light. This counters the
reading passage’s assertion that the ashen light of Venus is reflected
sunlight.
Lastly, the professor argues that aurorae
cannot be a plausible reason for the ashen light. It is true that plasmas
emitted from the Sun enter a planet’s atmosphere to occur aurorae by a magnetic
field. However, Venus doesn’t have one. Thus, there is no way for aurorae to
take place on Venus. This refutes that the reading passage’s claim that the
glow detected on Venus may be aurorae. |