Post by Lone Wanderer on Jan 17, 2018 20:04:05 GMT
Source: Stephen Hawking Is Worried About Humanity's Future
Venus may have been a much more welcoming place about 4 billion years ago, according to NASA. Astronomers believe the planet once had liquid water but underwent a period of runaway warming that burned off the oceans and pushed the temperature of the surface to 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius). As water vapor from the planet's warming oceans amassed in the atmosphere, it likely trapped ever more heat, according to a 2002 NASA study, creating a positive feedback cycle. Venus illustrates the importance of small differences in determining whether a planet can support complex life, according to Hawking, and demonstrates the reality of the greenhouse effect.
"Next time you meet a climate change denier, tell them to take a trip to Venus," Hawking says. "I will pay the fare."
Venus may have been a much more welcoming place about 4 billion years ago, according to NASA. Astronomers believe the planet once had liquid water but underwent a period of runaway warming that burned off the oceans and pushed the temperature of the surface to 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius). As water vapor from the planet's warming oceans amassed in the atmosphere, it likely trapped ever more heat, according to a 2002 NASA study, creating a positive feedback cycle. Venus illustrates the importance of small differences in determining whether a planet can support complex life, according to Hawking, and demonstrates the reality of the greenhouse effect.
"Next time you meet a climate change denier, tell them to take a trip to Venus," Hawking says. "I will pay the fare."
BADASS 
In any case, an interesting topic