Venus may have a “soft” surface that is regularly renewed
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The upper shell of Venus – the lithosphere – is continuous, and not broken into tectonic plates, as on Earth. Scientists have investigated that its thickness is much thinner, and as a result, it is constantly renewed. The results were published in Nature Geoscience, reports Science Alert. On Venus, the temperature is quite high – 475°C, so the research devices did not have enough protection to conduct a long-term study. The Magellan orbiter collected the data using radar. He managed to take pictures of the surface through thick clouds. Photo: 3quarks/Depositphotos NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, together with geophysicist Suzanne Smrekar, carefully studied these images. Analysis of the data showed that the “crowns” on Venus, as well as trenches and ridges, are composed of volcanic rock. Where the ridges are closer together, the lithosphere is probably quite thin and flexible, averaging about 11 kilometers. The “crowns” resemble impact craters and consist of a raised ring (like a crown) around a sunken center with concentric faults radiating outwards. They can be huge, reaching several hundreds of kilometers in diameter. Previously, scientists considered “crowns” to be craters, but according to scientists, they arose as a result of volcanic eruptions from the bowels of the planet. First, the magma pushes the dome up, it collapses inward, and the rings are formed from the material that flowed out and solidified. Researchers also found relatively few impact craters on Venus compared to Mars and Mercury. These collision sites help scientists calculate the age of the planet. However, 80% of the surface of Venus consists of volcanic rock. So this planet regularly updated its appearance and kept the surface “young”. NASA is planning a mission during which an orbital probe will be launched in 2027 to study the corona of Venus. Read also: NASA showed a jellyfish-like galaxy in the constellation of China. PHOTO
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