New Data Suggest Widespread Volcanic Activity on Venus
2024-06-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1New examinations of data collected from Venus suggest the planet is more volcanically active than previously thought.
2The finding is based on radar images captured by Magellan, an orbiting spacecraft that the American space agency NASA operated.
3NASA officials have described Magellan as one of the most successful deep space missions in the agency's history.
4The spacecraft became the first to map nearly the whole surface of Venus during a five-year mission beginning in 1989.
5The orbiter made other discoveries about the planet as well.
6Venus is similar in structure and size to Earth and is also our closest planetary neighbor.
7Italian researchers studied radar images captured by Magellan from 1990 to 1992.
8The effort resulted in the discovery of what the team believes to be large lava flows in two new areas.
9The research team said the latest finding - combined with evidence from past studies - means the volcanic activity on Venus is likely comparable to Earth's.
10The team recently published its results in a study appearing in Nature Astronomy.
11Davide Sulcanese of Italy's d'Annunzio University was the lead writer of the study.
12He told Reuters news agency, "These findings significantly change our understanding of the degree to which Venus is volcanically active."
13One of the two newly identified areas is near a volcano on Venus called Sif Mons.
14The volcano - which sits near an area called Eistla Regio - is estimated to be about 300 kilometers wide.
15Radar images from the area suggest a lava flow created a rock structure extending for 30 square kilometers.
16The other big lava flow was discovered in a large volcanic plain in an area known as Niobe Planitia.
17The researchers said the rock structure created by this lava flow is about 45 square kilometers.
18Scientists have estimated that both lava rock formations have an average depth between three and 20 meters.
19The team believes the lava flows were related to volcanic activities that were taking place during Magellan's mapping mission.
20Another co-writer of the study was planetary scientist Giuseppe Mitri of d'Annunzio University.
21He told Reuters both volcanoes are thought to be "shield volcanoes."
22This means lava from the volcanoes flows easily because it faces less resistance.
23Scientists say it is important to study active volcanoes to understand more about what happens below the planet's surface.
24Volcanic activity can, they say, greatly affect how a planet grows and develops over time.
25The new study builds on past evidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus.
26One 2023 study found a volcanic vent in another area called Atla Regio.
27The area is near the planet's equator and contains two of the planet's largest volcanoes.
28The researchers said radar images showed that a vent on the surface had expanded and changed shape over an eight-month period in 1991.
29The discovered vent is on Maat Mons, the planet's highest volcano.
30But Sulcanese said the latest study "is the first to provide direct proof of lava flows formed during the Magellan mission period."
31He noted that the additional evidence was identified because the radar images clearly observed changes "in surface morphology and radar data."
32Scott Hensley is a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
33He said in a statement, "This exciting work provides another example of volcanic change on Venus from new lava flows that augments the vent change...reported last year."
34Hensley added, "This result, in tandem with the earlier discovery of present-day geologic activity, increases the excitement in the planetary science community for future missions to Venus."
35I'm Bryan Lynn
1New examinations of data collected from Venus suggest the planet is more volcanically active than previously thought. 2The finding is based on radar images captured by Magellan, an orbiting spacecraft that the American space agency NASA operated. NASA officials have described Magellan as one of the most successful deep space missions in the agency's history. 3The spacecraft became the first to map nearly the whole surface of Venus during a five-year mission beginning in 1989. The orbiter made other discoveries about the planet as well. Venus is similar in structure and size to Earth and is also our closest planetary neighbor. 4Italian researchers studied radar images captured by Magellan from 1990 to 1992. The effort resulted in the discovery of what the team believes to be large lava flows in two new areas. 5The research team said the latest finding - combined with evidence from past studies - means the volcanic activity on Venus is likely comparable to Earth's. The team recently published its results in a study appearing in Nature Astronomy. 6Davide Sulcanese of Italy's d'Annunzio University was the lead writer of the study. He told Reuters news agency, "These findings significantly change our understanding of the degree to which Venus is volcanically active." 7One of the two newly identified areas is near a volcano on Venus called Sif Mons. The volcano - which sits near an area called Eistla Regio - is estimated to be about 300 kilometers wide. Radar images from the area suggest a lava flow created a rock structure extending for 30 square kilometers. 8The other big lava flow was discovered in a large volcanic plain in an area known as Niobe Planitia. The researchers said the rock structure created by this lava flow is about 45 square kilometers. 9Scientists have estimated that both lava rock formations have an average depth between three and 20 meters. The team believes the lava flows were related to volcanic activities that were taking place during Magellan's mapping mission. 10Another co-writer of the study was planetary scientist Giuseppe Mitri of d'Annunzio University. He told Reuters both volcanoes are thought to be "shield volcanoes." This means lava from the volcanoes flows easily because it faces less resistance. 11Scientists say it is important to study active volcanoes to understand more about what happens below the planet's surface. Volcanic activity can, they say, greatly affect how a planet grows and develops over time. 12The new study builds on past evidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. One 2023 study found a volcanic vent in another area called Atla Regio. The area is near the planet's equator and contains two of the planet's largest volcanoes. 13The researchers said radar images showed that a vent on the surface had expanded and changed shape over an eight-month period in 1991. The discovered vent is on Maat Mons, the planet's highest volcano. 14But Sulcanese said the latest study "is the first to provide direct proof of lava flows formed during the Magellan mission period." He noted that the additional evidence was identified because the radar images clearly observed changes "in surface morphology and radar data." 15Scott Hensley is a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said in a statement, "This exciting work provides another example of volcanic change on Venus from new lava flows that augments the vent change...reported last year." 16Hensley added, "This result, in tandem with the earlier discovery of present-day geologic activity, increases the excitement in the planetary science community for future missions to Venus." 17I'm Bryan Lynn 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, Reuters and Nature Astronomy. 19___________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21mission - n. a flight by an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific task 22lava - n. hot, melted rock that comes out of a volcano 23plain - n. a large area of flat land 24shield - n. something that protects something or someone from something dangerous or unpleasant 25vent - n. a hole in something that lets air and other materials in 26morphology -n. the study of how things are structured 27augment - v. to increase in size or amount 28in tandem - phr. to do something together or at the same time