See active volcanoes on Venus: scientists discovered them for the first time

Anna Gülcher from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, and her colleagues

created a high-resolution simulationthe process of formation of volcanic objects on Venus. The scientists built on our understanding of the planet's interior using data from the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission, which ended in 2014. They then looked at infrared images from NASA's Magellan mission to Venus in the early 1990s to see if the images matched their simulation.

Simulation has allowed researchersto determine what functions the active volcanic object will have. Specifically, they looked for a trench around the outer ring of the site and a bulge at the edge of the trench.

Sapas Mons is a large volcano on Venus. Credit: NASA/JPL

Looking at the images of the Magellan, they foundthat at least 37 volcanic sites had these features, which indicates their activity. Volcanic areas called crowns are much larger than terrestrial volcanoes. The middle crown, which the researchers studied, had a diameter of 300 kilometers. Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the largest active volcano on Earth, is only 120 kilometers wide.

The researchers also found that mostof these places were in the belt around the planet. Scientists called this site the "Ring of Fire". Scientists hope that future missions to Venus will target the region to learn more about the planet's geology.

Based on the size, chemical composition andposition in the solar system, Venus is the most Earth-like planet ever observed. Understanding whether a planet is volcanically active today is an integral part of the puzzle scientists are trying to unravel. They want to understand why the Earth is habitable, and Venus, so similar to her, is a barren and hot wasteland.

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