Venus may be the only other planet with active volcanoes

[Judi Lynn]

The finding would mark the first time humans observed an active volcano on another planet

NICOLE KARLIS
JANUARY 4, 2020 3:00PM (UTC)

The planet Venus might be home to active volcanoes, according to a new study published in Science Advances. If this is true, it would mark the first time scientists have observed an active volcano on another planet.

To verify Venutian volcanism, researchers experimented with crystals of olivine, a mineral found in a volcanic rock. To test how olivine might be observed on Venus, researchers involved in the study tried to mimic the conditions on the surface of Venus. Specifically, they heated olivine in a furnace up to 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit for a month. Within days the olivine became coated with the reddish-black mineral hematite, which can make olivine more difficult to detect.

Intriguingly, from 2006 to 2014, the European Space Agency's Venus Express orbited the planet and detected signs of olivine. The findings from the latest study would seem to suggest it came about as a result of volcanic eruptions.

"[O]ur results suggest that these high-emissivity lava flows are not millions or even thousands of years old .... but were emplaced at most a few years before detection," the researchers write. "If so, then Venus is volcanically active today because our experimental results show that the emissivity/reflectance signature of olivine should be obscured by oxide coatings within months to years."

More:
https://www.salon.com/2020/01/04/venus-may-be-the-only-other-planet-with-active-volcanoes/

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Long as we don't count moons