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Venus appears to be more volcanically active than previously known, according to scientists whose new analysis of decades-old radar images has spotted evidence of eruptions at two additional sites on the venus.
Radar images obtained by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft from 1990 to 1992 indicated large lava flows at these two locations in the Venusian northern hemisphere at the time of the observations, the researchers said.
These findings, coupled with previous studies, indicate that the planet’s volcanic activity is comparable to the earth’s, they added
One of the two sites is a volcano called Sif Mons, which is about 300 km wide and situated in a region called Eistla Regio.
The before-and-after radar images indicate a lava flow amounting to about 30 sq. km of rock.
The other site is a large volcanic plain in a region called Niobe Planitia.
About 45 sq. kilometers of rock was produced in this lava flow.
Both Sif Mons and the volcanoes in Niobe Planitia are shield volcanoes, characterized by broad, gentle slopes formed by low-viscosity lava flows
Venus
It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
It is the second planet from the Sun and sixth in the solar system in size and mass.
It is the second brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, probably that is the reason why it was the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky, as early as the second millennium BC.
Characteristics:
Unlike the other planets in our solar system, Venus and Uranus spin clockwise on their axis.
It is the hottest planet in the solar system because of the high concentration of carbon dioxide which works to produce an intense greenhouse effect.
A day on Venus is longer than a year.
It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit of the Sun.
Venus has been called Earth’s twin because of the similarities in their masses, sizes, and densities and their similar relative locations in the solar system.
No planet approaches closer to Earth than Venus; at its nearest it is the closest large body to Earth other than the Moon.
Venus has 90 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth
Venus Missions: DaVinci+, Veritas (NASA); Shukrayaan I (India); EnVision (ESA)
Magellan spacecraft
The Magellan spacecraft was a robotic space probe launched by NASA of the United States, on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus by using synthetic-aperture radar and to measure the planetary gravitational field.
The Magellan probe was the first interplanetary mission to be launched from the Space Shuttle, the first one to use the Inertial Upper Stage booster, and the first spacecraft to test aerobraking as a method for circularizing its orbit.
Mission ended in October 13, 1994
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