Evidence of Active Volcano on Earth's Twin

  • 22 Mar 2023

Recently, a new study has found direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus (also known as Earth’s twin) for the first time.

  • Researchers analysed archival radar images taken by NASA's Magellan spacecraft between 1990 and 1992 and observed a volcanic vent changing its shape and getting bigger in size in around eight months.
  • The vent is situated on the north side of a domed shield volcano that is part of the larger Maat Mons volcano, in the planet's AtlaRegio area.
  • The change in the vent's shape and size indicated an eruption or flow of magma beneath the vent.
  • The discovery challenges previous assumptions that volcanic activity on Venus might occur thousands of years apart.
  • The new findings take scientists a step further to understand the geological conditions of not just Venus but also other exoplanets.
  • As volcanoes act like windows to provide information about a planet's interior, the discovery provides insight into the planet's interior.
  • In the next decade, three new Venus missions would be launched, including the European EnVision orbiter and NASA's DAVINCI and VERITAS missions.

Exoplanets, also known as extrasolar planets, are planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. They are located outside of our Solar System and were first discovered in the 1990s. Exoplanets vary in size and composition, and some may be similar to Earth in terms of their potential habitability.