US scientists have retrieved full data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, taken more than 30 years ago, and shown surprising evidence that another planet in the solar system is still geologically active.
Magellan Ship, also known as Venus Radar MapperBe Venus exploration ship It was launched in 1989 by NASA and completed its mission in 1994, but its enormous data set continues to reveal interesting things as image and signal analysis techniques gradually modernize.
This time, a team of scientists led by geophysicist Robert Herick from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (USA) and radar technology expert Scott Hensley from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) analyzed the results of the images collected by Magellan from the early 1990s until 1991.
3D perspective of the Maat Mons region on Venus
3D perspective of the Maat Mons area on Venus – (Photo: NASA).
In a March 15 report, NASA said it had identified a clear change in the shape of a volcanic vent on the surface of Venus in just 8 months, as evidence shows. Venus is still geologically active!
Part of the reason the discovery was overshadowed for so long is that the elliptical orbit of this spacecraft causes the image data on each of its areas to have many errors that must be analyzed manually rather than per machine.
This small volcano is located near two of Venus’ supervolcanoes Ozza and Maat Mons. It may be part of Mat Mons, with data dated October 2, 1991 showing that it appears to have undergone an eruption, causing its previous almost circular shape to deform and widen from 2.2 square kilometers to 4 square kilometers.
The surrounding terrain also changed, as if it had been devastated by fresh lava just before.
On Earth, the planet’s geological activity often causes disasters, but is also extremely necessary for life by providing elements that help stabilize the temperature, environment and chemical composition of the atmosphere.
Therefore, finding a geologically active planet is the dream of astronomers. It is one of the main factors that demonstrate that the planet is capable of supporting life.
Back on Venus, it has long been proven that she was born as Earth’s twin brother, with all the conditions for life – and she is still alive. “living area” of the solar system – but many unfortunate factors in the evolution of the planet have caused its slowdown, the cessation of its geological activity and its ferocious greenhouse effect.
One thing that made people think Venus was dead was Its lithosphere is a homogeneous crust, instead of being made up of many tectonic plates like the Earth. Terrestrial volcanoes often erupt at the edges of tectonic plates. However, new findings show that volcanoes on other planets may have acted differently.
This location will be a mysterious place to explore for future NASA missions. Numerous studies in recent years have discovered potential biological signatures in the planet’s spectrum, clearly attracting the interest of the US space agency.
New research has just been published in the journal Science.
Article source: NLD
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American scientists have returned the data set from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, taken more than 30 years ago, and shown surprising evidence that another planet in the solar system…
