$fractured space pioneer spaceship$

$fractured space pioneer spaceship$

From those models, they concluded that only an eruption could have caused the change. The two researchers created computer models of the vent in various configurations to test different geological-event scenarios, such as landslides. Herrick teamed up with JPL’s Scott Hensley, the project scientist for VERITAS and a specialist in analyzing radar data like Magellan’s. The low resolution of the three-decade-old data only made the work more complicated. Credit: Robert Herrick/UAFīut because the two observations were from opposite viewing angles, they had different perspectives, which made them difficult to compare.

$fractured space pioneer spaceship$ $fractured space pioneer spaceship$

At right are the before (A) and after (B) Magellan observations of the expanded vent on Maat Mons, with possible new lava flows after an eruptive event. It also appeared to be filled to the rim with a lava lake.Īltitude data for the Maat and Ozza Mons region on the Venus surface is shown at left, with the area of study indicated by the black box. In radar images captured eight months later, the same vent had doubled in size and become misshapen. It had steep interior sides and showed signs of drained lava down its exterior slopes, factors that hinted at activity. In the February image, the vent appeared nearly circular, covering an area of less than 1 square mile (2.2 square kilometers). While scrutinizing Magellan radar images, Herrick identified a volcanic vent associated with Maat Mons that changed significantly between February and October 1991. The region has long been thought to be volcanically active, but there was no direct evidence of recent activity. The geological changes Herrick found occurred in Atla Regio, a vast highland region near Venus’ equator that hosts two of the planet’s largest volcanoes, Ozza Mons and Maat Mons. The vertical scale in this perspective has been exaggerated 10 times. NASA Magellan mission synthetic aperture radar data is combined with radar altimetry to develop a three-dimensional map of the surface. Lava flows extend for hundreds of kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the foreground, to the base of Maat Mons. The viewpoint is located 634 kilometers (393 miles) north of Maat Mons at an elevation of 3 kilometers (2 miles) above the terrain. Maat Mons is displayed in this computer-generated, three-dimensional perspective of the surface of Venus. Therefore, Venus is often seen as Earth’s “evil twin” because it presents a stark contrast to our planet’s relatively benign conditions. In contrast, Earth has a much milder climate and is much more hospitable to life as we know it. The extreme greenhouse effect on Venus has caused its surface temperature to soar to over 900 degrees Fahrenheit (475 degrees Celsius), hot enough to melt lead. Venus is sometimes called Earth’s “evil twin” because despite being similar in size and composition to Earth, its surface is incredibly hostile, with a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulfuric acid. The images revealed a volcanic vent changing shape and increasing significantly in size in less than a year. Scientists made the discovery after poring over archival radar images of Venus taken more than 30 years ago, in the 1990s, by NASA’s Magellan mission. In a first, scientists have seen direct evidence of active volcanism on Earth’s twin, setting the stage for the agency’s VERITAS mission to investigate.ĭirect geological evidence of recent volcanic activity has been observed on the surface of Venus for the first time. A new study found one of Maat Mons’ vents became enlarged and changed shape over an eight-month period in 1991, indicating an eruptive event occurred. This computer-generated 3D model of Venus’ surface shows the summit of Maat Mons, the volcano that is exhibiting signs of activity.

$fractured space pioneer spaceship$

Fractured space pioneer spaceship