After decades of speculation, astronomers have found the first direct evidence of volcanic activity on Venus. Radar images of Earth’s ‘twin’ taken just a few months apart have revealed recent eruptions.
Venus and Earth may have started very similar, but evolved along very different lines. Present-day Venus has a barren surface hot enough to melt lead, suffocating under a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulfuric acid. Whether this hellish condition also includes Balkanism has been an open question for decades.
In a new study, astronomers have found direct evidence that volcanoes are still erupting on Venus. The team began by examining archive radar data he collected by NASA’s Magellan mission in the early 1990s, looking for locations that appeared to change between snapshots. And sure enough, within a few months, an area had undergone a drastic change and looked suspiciously volcanic.
The region in question is called Atla Regio and is home to two of Venus’ largest volcanoes, Ozza Mons and Maat Mons. The vents near the latter mountain appeared to change significantly between images taken in February 1991 and October of the same year.
When Magellan first flew overhead, the vent was almost perfectly circular and covered about 2.2 square kilometers (0.8 square miles). But by October, that same vent had doubled in size, changed shape, and most visibly appeared to be filled with a lava lake.
Robert Herrick/UAF
But the research was much more than just comparing two images. The two observations looked at the region from different angles and were taken at low resolution. To find out the differences, the team had to develop computer simulations of different scenarios to see which one worked best.
“We only had a couple of simulations that matched the images,” said study co-author Scott Hensley. “The most likely scenario is that volcanic activity occurred on Venus’ surface during the Magellan mission. It is.” “This is only his one data point across the planet, but it confirms that there is modern geological activity.”
We may not have to wait too long for more evidence. This will build a global 3D radar map of the planet at much higher resolution, scanned in the near-infrared to determine surface composition and measure the gravitational field. Collectively, these instruments will help build a detailed picture of Venus’ geology.
A study was published in a journal chemistry.
Source: NASA
