Quantifying Insolation’s Role in Venus’s Evolution

Determine the precise contribution of stellar insolation (incident solar radiation) to the overall evolution of Venus—including its atmosphere, surface, and interior—relative to other planetary-scale influences such as rotation rate, obliquity, and the presence or absence of a magnetic field.

Background

Although Venus and Earth are similar in bulk properties, they differ markedly in rotation rate, obliquity, magnetic environment, and atmospheric composition. Traditional explanations emphasize Venus’s higher insolation as the trigger for divergent climate evolution, but multiple planetary-scale factors likely contributed.

Establishing how much insolation alone, versus other factors, shaped Venus’s atmospheric, surface, and interior evolution is essential to interpret Venus as an anchor for planetary habitability and to extrapolate to terrestrial exoplanets.