Venus is nothing like we thought it was

"... Here we report the first ever in situ observations of atmospheric waves in Venus’s thermosphere (130–140km) at high latitudes (71.5◦–79.0◦). These measurements were made by the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment (VExADE)⁵ during aero-braking from 24 June to 11 July 2014. As the spacecraft flew through Venus’s atmosphere, deceleration by atmospheric drag was sufficient to obtain from accelerometer readings a total of 18 vertical density profiles. We infer an average temperature of T = 114 ± 23 K and find horizontal wave-like density perturbations and mean temperatures being modulated at a quasi-5-day period ..."
--from the abstract.

Not actually at the poles but between latitude 70° and 80°. The actual poles will be even colder. They inferred an average temperature 114 ±23 K (91 to 137 K; -182 to -136 C). That was the average they got. The actual coldest would've been even colder!

Red crosses and the red line are normalized temperatures, T/T_mean, with the mean value T_mean = 114K

This is far colder than the coldest temperature found on earth. At the surface the coldest temperature measured on earth was: −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica (East Antarctic plateau, latitude 78°S, elevation 3.5km) on 21 July, 1983 by ground measurements. During the middle of the Southern winter.

If the greenhouse gas effect were as important for Venus's climate as they say, this greenhouse gas effect would be felt predominantly at the poles. It would warm the poles. Something very fishy happened with our understanding of Venus's climate. Looks like we have it very wrong. The models of Venus's runaway greenhouse gas effect tell us that an earth-like Venus became too hot for life due to its atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide, CO₂.

These temperature measurements are atmospheric, and earth does have two layers in its atmosphere which get cold (mesopause and tropopause), but not nearly as cold as these Venusian measurements.

"plunging the craft into the atmosphere above the poles, where the probe encountered an atmosphere thinner than previously modeled"

... thinner than previously modeled...? Not thinner than previously measured. This is really sad. Our science is being destroyed by idealism, masquerading as "settled science". We've been swindeled by James Hansen and his band of climate pseudoscientists.

Reference: news | nature article

---

In situ observations of waves in Venus’s polar lower thermosphere with Venus Express aerobraking

Ingo C.F. Müller-Wodarg, Sean Bruinsma, Jean-Charles Marty and Håkan Svedhem

Abstract: Waves are ubiquitous phenomena found in oceans and atmospheres alike. From the earliest formal studies of waves in the Earth’s atmosphere to more recent studies on other planets, waves have been shown to play a key role in shaping atmospheric bulk structure, dynamics and variability^1–4. Yet, waves are difficult to characterize as they ideally require in situ measurements of atmospheric properties that are difficult to obtain away from Earth. Thus, we have incomplete knowledge of atmospheric waves on planets other than our own, and we are thereby limited in our ability to understand and predict planetary atmospheres. Here we report the first ever in situ observations of atmospheric waves in Venus’s thermosphere (130–140km) at high latitudes (71.5°–79.0°). These measurements were made by the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment (VExADE)⁵ during aerobraking from 24 June to 11 July 2014. As the spacecraft flew through Venus’s atmosphere, deceleration by atmospheric drag was sufficient to obtain from accelerometer readings a total of 18 vertical density profiles. We infer an average temperature of T = 114 ± 23 K and find horizontal wave-like density perturbations and mean temperatures being modulated at a quasi-5-day period.