Researchers from the University of Alaska found a growing volcanic vent in archival images
The researchers reexamined the data collectedNASA's Magellan space probe. The scientists compared an image taken in mid-February 1991 with an image taken in mid-October of that year. The analysis showed a vent change on the north side of a domed shield volcano that is part of Mount Maat, the highest volcano on Venus.
Data from two observations of the Magellan probe: in February (top) and October (bottom) 1991. Image: Robert R. Herrick, Scott Hensley, Science
The mouth of the volcano in the pictures has grown by one and a half timesfrom a circle with an area of about 2.5 km² to the formation of an irregular shape with a size of almost 4 km². Such large-scale changes on Earth are associated with volcanic activity. This could be an eruption in the vent or movement of magma underneath that causes the walls to collapse and the crater to expand.
The later image shows that the wallsthe vents were shorter, perhaps only a few hundred feet high, and that the vent was filled almost to the brim. The researchers speculate that in the eight months between shots, a lava lake formed in the vent, although it is not known whether its contents were liquid or cooled and solidified.
Venus, similar to Earth in size and mass, butnoticeably differs in that there is no movement of lithospheric plates on it, scientists explain. On our planet, it is the collision areas and the boundaries of such structures that are the main places of volcanic activity. The results of a new study show that despite all the differences, volcanic activity has been preserved on Venus.
Read more:
The secret of longevity is revealed: scientists have figured out how to start the necessary mechanism in the human body
Named a new cause of autism
2,700-year-old temple found in Sudan He surprised scientists
On the cover: Mount Moat. Image: NASA — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons