Mars V/S Venus

Planets: Mars, Venus

Mood: Festive

Song: You Know Me * Roisin Murphy

It's getting hot in Beirut much sooner than expected.
We're in late March and it's already 32 degrees. What the hell!

I suggest we take two separate trips, to Mars and to Venus. We could go with the Mars Express or with the Venus Express (which are the ESA's spacecrafts that have been orbiting around the two planets for some time now).

(Magellan's topographical map of Venus)

Known to be widely dissimilar, the dual Expresses have found striking similarities between the atmospheres of Mars and Venus. While the atmosphere of the first planet is cold and very thin, the second's is hot and very thick. And yet the same processes are taking place on both Mars and Venus.

(Mars photographed by Hubble)

In contrast with the Earth that has a protective "magnetosphere" that protects it from the solar radiations, Mars and Venus are open to all sorts of solar winds that interact with their atmospheres since they are not defended by a magnetic field.

We assume we are lucky to have one!

So are you into the hotness of Venus or you'd change directions and hit the coldness of Mars?

In order to make this ride more fun to both planets, and as hot as the weather is in here, here's the Absolute Pornfunk Setlist of the month (part 2). Six deliciously funky songs to represent the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's and the 2000's.

01. Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder) - from the album Innervisions [1973]










02. Sing It Back (Moloko) - from the album I Am Not a Doctor [1998]










03. Ride a White Horse (Goldfrapp) - from the album Supernature [2007]










04. Big Time (Peter Gabriel) - from the album So [1986]











05. Just Can't Get Enough (Depeche Mode) - from the album Speak and Spell [1981]










06. You Know Me (Róisín Murphy) - from the album Overpowered [1998]