The results of the study remain only a convincing hypothesis for now, but the upcoming missions to Venus may change the situation.
A group of scientists has discovered that the ongoing volcanic eruptions on Venus are to blame for asteroids bombarding the planet and heating it up. Space.com reported it.
Planetary scientists estimate the age of a planet’s surface by counting the number of craters on it. The more craters, the older the surface must be. For example, Earth has very few visible craters because the planet’s surface has been modified by subduction zones within the continental plates.
There is no plate tectonics on Venus, but it has a large number of volcanoes – more than 80 thousand. Most of these are volcanic vents through which the lava seeps. Over time, lava can flood the planet’s surface, filling craters and creating a younger appearance than Venus’ current age of 4.5 billion years.
On Earth, the main driving force behind volcanism is plate tectonics, which is absent on Venus. Because what makes the planet’s volcano active has so far remained a mystery. One of the leading theories is that Venus experiences catastrophic volcanic eruptions every 500 million years, when heat builds up beneath a thick, immobile crust, but the mechanism for doing so has always been vaguely described. .
And so a team of planetary scientists, led by scientist Simone Marchi from the Southwestern Research Institute, found an explanation for what was happening.
It is known that at the beginning of the history of the solar system, many young planets were subjected to massive bombardment by asteroids and comets. The team compared the collision history of Earth and Venus and found that the latter received more hits.
“The higher impact speed led to more extensive silicate melting, melting up to 82% of Venus’ mantle,” said study co-author Raluka Rufu.
This extra energy heated up the interior of Venus, fueling volcanism that lasted billions of years, a new study shows.
It was previously reported that the Hubble telescope captured a unique image of a large galaxy cluster called eMACS J1353.7 + 4329.
Source: korrespondent
I am Ben Stock, a passionate and experienced digital journalist working in the news industry. At the Buna Times, I write articles covering technology developments and related topics. I strive to provide reliable information that my readers can trust. My research skills are top-notch, as well as my ability to craft engaging stories on timely topics with clarity and accuracy.