Interaction with the solar wind

Fig. 7.6. Even though Venus has no appreciable magnetic field, the solar wind is prevented from reaching the surface by Venus's dense atmosphere and by electrical currents induced in its conducting ionosphere. The planet has a well-developed bow shock, but it does not have belts of trapped particles. Both the ionosphere and the extended corona of hot gas, derived from the upper atmosphere, help to divert the solar wind.

Copyright 2009, Professor Kenneth R. Lang, Tufts University