Researchers Think Venus Has an Active Volcano as Seen in Images

Researchers Think Venus Has an Active Volcano as Seen in Images
Researchers say Venus has an active volcano that shows it is not a dead world yet. SDO/NASA via Getty Images

Venus is much more different as researchers suggest an active volcano exists, concluding that the planet is active. These conclusions are from images from the 30-year-old Magellan probe, which captured volcanic activity from 1990 and 1992.

Researchers Rethink Venus Again

Scientists are still trying to determine if the hot and rocky surface has volcanoes still active on the Venusian world, as reported by Science Org.

An argument is that their active magmatic activity has been continually changing the planet's surface. The Venusian world is only the third planetary body that has actual magmatic volcanism, not just mud volcanoes. Other examples are the Io moon of Jupiter, and Earth, the third planet from the sun.

Several space agencies are planning three missions to the planet named after the goddess of love about ten years from now. These will be the NASA Veritas and ESA EnVision, reported Gizmodo.

In 1994 the Magellan mission ended as the first earth aircraft to map out the Venusian landscape, which is an achievement that allowed the latest analysis done by a scientist studying the planet cited NASA. Based on the data of Robert Herrick, planetary science expert from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

An Active Volcano on Venus

As the head of the study, which cataloged countless radar imaging done by the Magellan probe with an unexpected surprise, one capture is the caldera located on Maat Mons, a Venusian volcano taller than Earth's Mount Everest.

This observation proved significant for the study of the planet and the finding of volcanic activity. To verify if Herrick's observation holds water, he let the data be examined by Scott Hensley, a radar specialist based at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He did look at it and agreed with the study lead's assumptions that the caldera had a sign of volcanic activity with changes to its structure.

It was later declared that the Venusian world was still alive and kicking based on the radar images captured.

Before this, evidence that volcanoes are still active was suggested, but now it's more concrete. In 2020 when several groups of researchers saw 37 volcanic structures on the planetary surface with volcanic activity, mentioned Reuters. Via the Magellan probe, this is finally considered accurate after several years.

What the study showed indicated a world still alive and active, not a dead world that has been debated, but lack of proof left it at that.

Other surface features are a high shield and domed pancake volcanoes on the Venusian surface, even immense canali, which are long dried-up channels of lava from past geologic activity. It gives a strong case for still being active, but the dense atmosphere makes it hard to peer into the planet's surface.

Modern imaging is better than the Magellan probe after it went offline. This mission to this neighbor of the Earth will prove researchers' theories about Venus. The active volcano could be verified by then.

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Science, Researchers, Venus
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