A fresh analysis of radar images obtained more than three decades ago has yielded new evidence indicating Venus, Earth's planetary next-door neighbor, is currently volcanically active — a dynamic world with eruptions and lava flows.
Researchers said on Wednesday radar images taken by NASA's Magellan spacecraft showed that a volcanic vent about 1.6 kilometers wide on the Venusian surface expanded and changed shape over an eight-month span in 1991. The vent is situated on Maat Mons, which at about 9 km tall is the planet's highest volcano and second-highest mountain.
A February 1991 image showed the vent as a circular formation covering about 2.6 square km. A October 1991 image showed the vent with an irregular shape covering about 3.9 square km.