Well, there have been lots of hints, but now astronomers have finally discovered direct geological evidence of current volcanic activity on the surface of Venus.
The findings are based on a detailed reexamination of archival radar images of Venus taken more than 30 years ago in the 1990s by NASA's Magellan spacecraft. The images have revealed a volcanic vent which is clearly changed its shape and increased significantly in size over the space of less than a year.
Scientists study active volcanoes to understand how a planet's interior can shape the crust, drive its evolution and affect habitability.
The study's lead author, Robert Herrick, says he wasn't really expecting to find anything, but after about 200 hours of manually comparing images from different Magellen orbits, he saw two images of the same region, which were taken eight months apart, which were exhibiting telltale geological changes caused by volcanic eruption.
Join the Space Time with Stuart Gary Members Only family to get access to commercial-free, Triple Episode premium editions and exclusive bonus content:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqnYqCJIIZEuPUrdwmXLK-w/join
#venus #space #astronomy #science #universe #spacetime
