Venus has several volcanoes, but whether any are active has worried scientists. Scientists identified current volcanic activity on Venus by reviewing previous satellite data. This suggests Venus’s surface is rapidly changing and dynamic. New data may also illuminate the planet’s genesis and future. Science published these results.
Researchers have found that a volcanic vent in Venus’s Atla Regio region, home to two of the planet’s greatest volcanoes, changed form in eight months. Comparing two photos of the region at this time showed this change. The vent may have erupted or flowed magma. On March 15, the scientists published their results in Science and presented them at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas.
Venus’s dense atmosphere, 100 times heavier than Earth’s, and 450 oC surface made it hard to prove its volcanic activity. Venus rovers and probes find this difficult. Scientists have relied on Magellan satellite data, the most reliable.
Robert Herrick, a geophysicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Scott Hensley, a radar scientist at JPL and VERITAS team member, studied Magellan radar photos of Venus’s volcanic regions.
Venus may attract planet lovers. Venus resembles Earth. The two planets have comparable compositions and sizes. Venus also has the closest solar orbit to Earth. Venus’s clouds and dense atmosphere make it distinctive, like Earth’s. Studying our solar system neighbors is wonderful.
Venusian and Earthly volcanism vary. Venus erupts less than Earth. Most Venus volcanoes have fluid lava flows. Venus has no explosive eruptions or sludgy, sticky lavas like Earth. Many factors may explain this. Secondly, Venusian lavas need more gas to explode than Earth lavas due to the high air pressure. Second, Venus lacks water, which powers Earth’s lava outbursts. Finally, Venus lacks plate subduction zones, where Earth has numerous viscous lavas and explosive eruptions. As Venus lacks subduction zones, such eruptions may be less likely.
Scientists discovered recent volcanic activity on Venus. NASA’s Magellan spacecraft’s radar photos from 30 years ago revealed this astounding finding. A volcanic vent had changed significantly in less than a year. The vent has expanded and changed form, proving Venus’s volcanic activity. It’s wonderful how technology and scientific creativity have revealed such fascinating insights about our solar system neighbors.
Sulfuric acid fog and extreme temperatures make Venus lifeless. Without active rifts or volcanoes, geologists thought the planet was lifeless. Recently discovered volcanic activity indicates Venus is geologically active.
NASA’s Magellan probe, which studied Venus 30 years ago using radar, produced the newest finding. A rapid collapse caused a volcano’s caldera, or round mouth, to develop eight months apart. This resembles volcanic collapses on Earth.
Venus joins Earth and Jupiter’s fiery moon, Io, as the only planets with active molten volcanoes. This means that future Venus missions will be able to analyze fresh rock that samples the planet’s interior, helping scientists understand how Venus is changing and losing heat.
Anomaly hot zones, sulfur dioxide surges, and jostled crust have previously indicated tectonic activity on Venus. Scientists reanalyzed Magellan data after these findings, leading to the newest discovery.
The study’s chief author, Robert Herrick, said the finding proves Venus is not dying and will revolutionize scientists’ understanding of its past. Scientists can now better grasp Venus’s evolution and heat loss.
Pandemic Zoom meetings helped planetary scientist Herrick find Venus’s volcanic activity. He spent hours at his computer comparing radar photos from various periods. He joked that he was attentive at every meeting.
The search was difficult. Magellan spacecraft photos have a resolution of several hundred meters and were only sensitive to substantial terrain changes. Throughout its five-year journey, the spacecraft only visited the same places three times. The radar was also rotated 180 degrees during its second mission, making ground feature comparisons difficult.
Despite these obstacles, Herrick diligently compared photos of Venus’s 2% surface. After hundreds of hours of laborious study, he found a transformed caldera. Scott Hensley, a JPL radar scientist famed for debunking Magellan data false alarms, confirmed his thoughts. Hensley’s prediction of an unaltered caldera during the second Magellan crossing differed greatly from observations. Herrick warned that the second photograph may have masked recent lava flows. The scientific world anxiously anticipates new findings regarding Earth’s intriguing geological past.
