A new study supports the hypothesis of volcanic activity on the surface of Venus, as this time scientists suggested the presence of a volcanic chimney on the planet that changed its shape.
The study is published in the scientific journal Sciencesresulting from an analysis of radar images of the surface of Venus taken by a North American space probe Magalhaes between 1990 and 1992 (the lander was deactivated in 1994).
The images reveal a volcanic chimney (one of the volcano’s main structures) that has expanded and changed shape, indicating recent volcanic activity on the planet,According to researchers from the University of North America in Alaska who conducted the analysis work.
A volcanic chimney is a channel through which gases, lava, and ash are expelled during an eruption. In depth, stacks sometimes have the shape of a slit, and the same slit may correspond to different stacks.
Several volcanoes have been identified on Venus, and although none have been observed to erupt, some previous studies have indicated that ongoing volcanic activity on Venus can occur in different regions of the planet.
In the new study, scientists argue that the chimney of the highest volcano on Venus, Maat Mons, which is 8,000 meters high, widened and changed shape between two images taken by the spacecraft in 1991. MagalhaesOne in February and one in October.
According to an article SciencesChanges in the adjacent surface may have been caused by pyroclastic flows emanating from the chimney, with the researchers interpreting these changes as evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus.
The surface of the planet is described as geologically small compared to all other rocky bodies in our solar system, with the exception of Earth and Io, one of Jupiter’s moons.
In 2015, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that the probe Venus Express (Already deactivated) He detects that there is volcanic activity on the planet, after eight years of observations. According to the European Space Agency at the time, Venus has a surface covered in volcanoes and ancient “tongues” of lava.
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