It has actually been fiercely disputed whether any stay active today, as the worlds extreme surface pressure and temperature levels make it tough for surface area probes to last very long (if at all) on Venus, and its thick clouds of sulfuric acid limitation analysis of its surface area from space.In a brand-new study, researchers analyzed Idunn Mons, a Venusian volcanic peak about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) high and 125 miles (200 km) large situated in Imdr Regio, a volcano-rich highlands region in southern Venus. And they discovered what they think could be current activity.Related: The 10 Weirdest Facts About VenusPrior research study found that the planet does possess fewer craters from cosmic effects than one would expect provided the number of craters pockmarking other rocky worlds in the solar system, a finding which suggests that lava from active volcanoes may continue to wipe the worlds surface clean.A better understanding of volcanic activity on Venus could assist shed light on the recent detection of phosphine gas there, which some researchers have controversially suggested may be connected with life on the hellish planet. The scientists also found surface fractures they suggested were proof of tectonic activity corresponding with volcanic activity.The scientists likewise showed that current laboratory experiments suggested that surface rock on Venus might chemically change much faster than previously believed.
This elevation design shows Idunn Mons, a volcano on Venus. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA)A volcanic peak standing more than a mile high up on Venus may still be active, brand-new findings reveal, possibly shedding light on hotly disputed findings that recommend that life might exist on the hellish planet.Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet in our planetary system. Previous research recommends that Venus has more than 1,600 significant volcanoes, and could have more than 100,000 or even more than 1 million smaller volcanoes. Nevertheless, it has been hotly disputed whether any stay active today, as the worlds extreme surface area pressure and temperatures make it difficult for surface area probes to last long (if at all) on Venus, and its thick clouds of sulfuric acid limit analysis of its surface from space.In a new research study, scientists examined Idunn Mons, a Venusian volcanic peak about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) high and 125 miles (200 km) wide located in Imdr Regio, a volcano-rich highlands area in southern Venus. And they found what they believe could be current activity.Related: The 10 Weirdest Facts About VenusPrior research study discovered that the planet does possess less craters from cosmic impacts than one would expect given the number of craters pockmarking other rocky planets in the planetary system, a finding which recommends that lava from active volcanoes might continue to wipe the worlds surface clean.A much better understanding of volcanic activity on Venus could help shed light on the current detection of phosphine gas there, which some researchers have controversially recommended might be connected with life on the hellish planet.”The possible existence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus might be associated with current or continuous volcanic activity,” study lead author Piero DIncecco, a planetary scientist at DAnnunzio University in Pescara, Italy, told Space.com. “Therefore, searching for sites of potentially active volcanism on Venus is essential.”In 2010, the European Space Agency (ESA)s Venus Express spacecraft identified infrared abnormalities on the eastern and leading flanks of Idunn Mons that suggested the presence of fresh volcanic deposits. This supplied the first hint that the location might have seen active volcanism in the previous few million years.The researchers analyzed spacecraft observations of the peak for any signs of current activity. They combined this data with lab research studies on how volcanic rock modifies when exposed to high surface area temperature levels and the caustic, sulfurous, carbon-dioxide-rich Venusian atmosphere.Surface images of the Venusian surface area caught by Venus Express and NASAs Magellan spacecraft verified the presence of fresh lava streams at Idunn Mons. Climatic data from Venus Express likewise discovered that winds are slower than expected in the lower atmosphere over Imdr Regio, which the researchers in this brand-new research study recommended might be related to heat from ongoing or current lava flows. The scientists also discovered surface area fractures they recommended were proof of tectonic activity accompanying volcanic activity.The researchers likewise revealed that recent laboratory experiments recommended that surface rock on Venus may chemically alter much faster than previously believed. While previous analyses recommended that volcanic flows on Idunn Mons were, at the majority of, 2.5 million years of ages and as young as 250,000 years of ages, the brand-new chemical analyses suggest that these rocks were much younger.All in all, the scientists concluded that Idunn Mons was recently active– possibly anywhere from 10,000 years ago to simply a couple of years ago.”This is the very first time we have actually integrated different and so many data sets to suggest a combination of both recent and potentially continuous eruptions, as well as current tectonic activity, on a terrestrial world aside from Earth,” DIncecco said.A number of future missions are presently planned to map Venus, including NASAs VERITAS orbiter and ESAs EnVision probe. If Venus is volcanically active, “future missions should target these geologically young provinces for duplicated high-resolution measurements to see which could be active,” study co-author Justin Filiberto, a planetary scientist at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Florida, told Space.com. Such objectives can assist to “examine which volcanoes have actually changed, how they have actually changed and the rate of altering,” Filiberto added.The scientists detailed their findings Oct. 27 in The Planetary Science Journal.Originally published on Space.com.