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| | | | | | | New map hints at Venus' wet, volcanic past
14 July 2009
| This image is an artistic interpretation of a possible volcano on Venus. In fact, from previous missions to the planet, Venus appears to be among the most geologically active planets in the solar system. Venus Express is able to detect gaseous markers in the lower layers of the atmosphere and variations in its temperature, possible signs of volcanic activity. Local variations in atmospheric temperature and pressure may also indicate the presence of seismic activity.
Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab | |  |  | |
| | | | | Venus Express is studying largely unknown phenomena in the Venusian atmosphere like never before. Its suite of instruments is also digging into the interaction between the solar wind and the planetary environment. In addition, the mission is gathering glimpses of the planet's surface, which is strictly coupled with its dense atmosphere.
Credits: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab) | | | | |
| | | | | The first temperature map of the planet's southern hemisphere at infrared wavelengths, charted with Venus Express's Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, VIRTIS.
The new map hints that our neighbouring world may once have been more Earth-like, with a plate tectonics system and an ocean of water.
The map comprises over a thousand individual images, recorded between May 2006 and December 2007, from a distance of about 60 000 km. Because Venus is covered in clouds, normal cameras cannot see the surface, but Venus Express used a particular infrared wavelength that can see through them. The new data are consistent with suspicions that the highland plateaus of Venus are ancient continents, once surrounded by ocean and produced by past volcanic activity.
The map is centred at the South Pole. The measured temperatures range from 442°C (or 715K), red to 422°C (or 695K) blue; higher temperatures correspond to lower altitudes, while lower temperature correspond to higher altitudes. The temperature difference is key to understanding whether Venus is volcanically active today. Scientists are now studying the cause of the differences in the expected temperature and the measured temperature, it can be either due a real increase in temperature, due to volcanic activity, or an apparent increase in temperature due to differences in the surface material.
Credits: ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA | | | | |
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| | Looking at Venus ESApod: Venus Express Related articles Venus Express finds planetary atmospheres such a dragWas Venus once a habitable planet?Venus is alive – geologically speakingWatching Venus glow in the darkESA extends missions studying Mars, Venus and Earth’s magnetosphereWhere did Venus’s water go?Venus comes to life at wavelengths invisible to human eyesVenus Express searching for life – on EarthHow windy is it on Venus? Venus Express answersClosing in on VenusNew details on venusian clouds revealedKey molecule discovered in Venus’s atmosphereIn depth Notes for editorsThis story in depth
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