Scientists have found evidence that some parts of Venus’ surface are moving, just like pieces of the continents on Earth Earth.
And while this activity is likely not due to the movement of tectonic plates, as is the case on Earth, it could be that the processes occurring on the two planets are “similar.”
This finding depicts Venus as a very living planet, in contrast to traditional views of it.
Europe launched a spacecraft, EnVision, to map radar and collect spectroscopic measurements of the planet’s surface and atmosphere.
And NASA sent two space probes, Veritas and DaVinci+, to Venus, towards the end of the decade.
“We have identified a previously unrecognized pattern of tectonic deformation on Venus, driven by interior motion like on Earth,” said lead author Paul Byrne, professor of planetary science at North Carolina State University.
“Although different from the tectonic motions we see on Earth, this remains evidence of motion from within the planet as seen from its surface.”
Dr Byrne, Dr Richard Ghail, of Royal Holloway, University of London, Prof Sean Solomon of Columbia University, in New York, and their colleagues have detected signs of a number of rocky crustal blocks in low-lying areas of Venus rotating and moving relatively sideways one another.
They compared this seemingly relatively recent activity to the activity of icebergs pushing against each other in the waters of Earth’s polar regions.
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