Space & Astronomy

Something appears to be moving beneath the surface of Venus

By T.K. Randall
May 16, 2025 ·  3 comments

Venus as it appears without its atmosphere. Image Credit: NASA / JPL With surface temperatures exceeding 860 degrees and crushing atmospheric pressures that are more than 100 times those found on our own planet, the conditions on Venus are undeniably hellish.

While landing a probe on the surface has long proven to be particularly challenging, back in 1989, NASA launched Magellan - an orbiter capable of mapping the surface of Venus, not by landing there, but by peering through its thick atmosphere from space using synthetic-aperture radar.

Now, more than 30 years later, scientists have discovered something in Magellan's data that could upend everything we know about both the surface of Venus and what lies beneath it.Unlike the Earth, Venus doesn't have plate tectonics, but peculiar deformations (known as coronae) visible on its surface have now suggested that there is some sort of subsurface movement going on.

"Coronae are not found on Earth today; however, they may have existed when our planet was young and before plate tectonics had been established," said study lead author Gael Cascioli.

"By combining gravity and topography data, this research has provided a new and important insight into the possible subsurface processes currently shaping the surface of Venus."

It is hoped that NASA's upcoming VERITAS mission, which will launch in 2031, will help to provide the missing pieces of the puzzle in explaining exactly what is going on beneath the planet's surface.

Source: Independent | Comments (3)

Tags: Venus