The second planet from our Sun, Venus, has been shrouded in mystery for centuries, but now a new discovery has advanced our understanding of it even further – that of the presence of active volcanoes. Astronomers have long been aware of the existence of ancient volcanoes on Venus, but this latest news marks the first time that an active eruption has been documented. This exciting discovery has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of Venus, and provides important clues about what this mysterious world has in store.
Venus – The Forgotten Planet
If you think of the planets in our Solar System, many of us will recall Mercury, Earth, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. But one planet often forgotten is Venus, the second oldest and second biggest, just after Mercury and just before Earth.
It is essential to keep in mind that no one has visited Venus in the past or even has plans to do so anytime soon. Despite this, researchers are able to determine much of the planet’s composition, climate, and terrain by studying it remotely. This includes mapping its composition, atmosphere and tracking geological events.
Early Discoveries of Venusian Volcanoes
Venus is the only planet besides Earth which is known to possess volcanoes. Scientists have known about these features since Galileo first observed the planet through his telescope in the early 17th century. More recently, planetary scientists have used visible, infrared and radar images from spacecraft to map the surface of Venus and study the planet’s volcanoes. In more recent decades, scientists have studied the Venusian surface through altimetry and magnetometer measurements to measure the heights and depths of features including volcanoes.
Although the existence of ancient volcanoes on Venus was known, there was not much evidence of ongoing volcanic activity. But that all changed this year, when researchers made a startling discovery — active volcanoes.
Astronomers Applying New Technology to Reveal A Startling Discovery
Using the ALMA Observatory in Chile, which is made up of 66 dishes spread across a desert plateau, scientists were able to detect phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus, a major clue that active volcanism might be happening on the planet’s surface. This combined with other new data spanning images of clouds and the planet’s surface were combined in order to detect “hot spots” of activity on the surface of Venus.
The analysis revealed several active hot spots. The largest and brightest one was located near the equator, where the surface temperature reaches nearly 500°C—far hotter than any other area on the planet. Other hotspots were also discovered scattered across the planet’s surface.
An Exciting Possibility – Life on Venus?
The most exciting implication of these new discoveries is the possibility of life on Venus. Scientists have long wondered if primitive life forms could exist on planets with hostile, extreme environments — and this new discovery of active volcanoes could offer the perfect conditions for their survival.
The presence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus is particularly intriguing as this molecule is typically produced on Earth by microorganisms. Therefore, the presence of phosphine on Venus could be indicative of life beneath the planet’s clouded surface.
Unfortunately, any existing life forms would not survive on the planet’s surface due to the extreme conditions, but they could thrive deep underground, where conditions may be similar to those found on Earth and other planets in our Solar System.
This latest discovery is a major milestone in our understanding of Venus, and sheds light on its evolution and potentially, the presence of life. Although our knowledge of this planet is limited and will likely remain so until a mission is mounted to explore and document the surface of Venus, this new discovery offers an exciting possibility to unlock some of the secrets of this mysterious planet.
