For the first time, scientists have received evidence that volcanic activity continues on Venus.
For many decades, scientists have argued about whether the geologically young surface of Venus could be the result of long-standing volcanic eruptions, or whether volcanic activity still continues on this planet. But now, with the help of 32-year-old images taken by the Magellan spacecraft, scientists have found evidence for the first time that active volcanism is still present on Venus.
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Our planet and Venus are often compared by scientists, because they really have a lot in common. Both planets are similar in size, mass and density. But in the distant past, the evolution of the Earth went one way, and Venus – a completely different one. If our world has habitable conditions, then Venus is a real hell with the highest temperature, poisonous atmosphere and a surface covered with solidified lava.
If on Earth volcanic activity occurs along the faults of the lithospheric plates, then on Venus there is no division of the crust into parts, it is solid. Nevertheless, this surface is young by cosmic standards, and therefore most likely appeared as a result of long-standing volcanic eruptions. But perhaps volcanic activity is still going on? Scientists have been trying to answer this question for decades.
And here archival images of the Magellan spacecraft, which studied Venus from 1990 to 1994, came to their aid. A group of scientists manually went through a huge number of photographs of the surface and found evidence that Venus is still volcanically active at the present time.
Image of Venus taken by the Magellan spacecraft
Photo: NASA
According to Robert Herrick of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA, during the analysis of the images, it was not a volcanic eruption that was detected. But scientists discovered a volcanic vent that changed shape over the course of eight months in 1991.
In particular, scientists have found that the hole in a shield volcano called Mount Maat on Venus initially had an area of about 2.2 square kilometers, and then changed its shape and its area increased to 4 square kilometers over time. Mount Maat is a volcano that has a much larger surface area and extent than volcanoes on Earth. In addition, it is one of the two highest volcanoes on Venus, whose height is more than 8 km.
In particular, scientists have found that the hole in a shield volcano called Mount Maat on Venus initially had an area of about 2.2 square kilometers, and then changed its shape and its area increased to 4 square kilometers over time. Mount Maat is a volcano that has a much larger surface area and extent than volcanoes on Earth. In addition, it is one of the two highest volcanoes on Venus, whose height is more than 8 km.
Photo: NASA
Thanks to recent high-resolution images of the surface of Venus, scientists have been able to determine that the enlargement of the vent, the change in its shape and the change in the appearance of the surface near the vent, is the result of outgoing lava flows, Herrick said. This means that volcanic activity on Venus is still ongoing. Scientists have come to the conclusion that at least several volcanic eruptions occur on Venus every year.
Researchers have high hopes for two spacecraft that will study Venus in the near future, as they will be able to confirm the existence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus.
Researchers have high hopes for two spacecraft that will study Venus in the near future, as they will be able to confirm the existence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus
Photo: space.com
We are talking about the following spacecraft that will go into space between 2028 and 2030:
DAVINCI+ will analyze Venus’s atmosphere to understand how it formed and evolved, and will also try to find out if Venus once had an ocean of liquid water. what is the inner part of the planet.
Focus has already written about the fact that scientists believe that there was an ocean of liquid water on Venus, which may indicate that the planet could once be potentially habitable. But as a new study shows, these oceans disappeared much sooner than some theories suggest.
Focus also wrote about a new study that concerns Jupiter’s moon Europa. Scientists have been able to figure out why the moon’s icy shell rotates at a different speed than its interior.
We remind you that the NASA rover sent to Earth unique footage of the movement of the first extraterrestrial aircraft on Mars in the atmosphere of the planet, as Focus already wrote.
