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The surface of Venus is comparatively flat. When 93% of the topography was mapped by Pioneer Venus Orbiter, scientists found that the total distance from the lowest point to the highest point on the entire surface was about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), about the same as the vertical distance between the Earth's ocean floor and the higher summits of the Himalayas.
The surface of Venus is dominated by geologic features that include volcanoes, large impact craters, and aeolian erosion and sedimentation landforms. Venus has a topography reflecting its single, strong crustal plate, with a unimodal elevation distribution (over 90% of the surface lies within an elevation of -1.0 and 2.5 km) [1] that preserves geologic structures for long periods of time.
It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" due to their similar size, gravity, and bulk composition (Venus is both the closest planet to Earth and the planet closest in size to Earth). The surface of Venus is covered by a dense atmosphere and presents clear evidence of former violent volcanic activity.
Planet Venus Observed with Modern Telescope on April 10, 2020. NASA's Magellan spacecraft mission discovered that Venus has a geologically young surface with a relatively uniform age of 500±200 Ma (million years). [3] The age of Venus was revealed by the observation of over 900 impact craters on the surface of the planet.
DAVINCI+ will measure the composition of Venus' atmosphere to understand how it formed and evolved, as well as determine whether the planet ever had an ocean. The mission consists of a descent sphere that will plunge through the planet's thick atmosphere, measuring noble gases and other elements to understand Venus' climate change.
During the mapping cycle 1 (left-looking) radar surface mapping on Venus (September 15, 1990 to May 15, 1991), around 70% of the Venusian surface was mapped by synthetic aperture radar. In cycle 2 (right-looking), 54.5% of the surface was mapped, mainly the south pole regions and gaps from cycle 1 during May 15, 1991 to January 14, 1992.
Venus's equator rotates at 6.52 km/h (4.05 mph), whereas Earth's rotates at 1,674.4 km/h (1,040.4 mph). [ note 2 ] [ 153 ] Venus's rotation period measured with Magellan spacecraft data over a 500-day period is smaller than the rotation period measured during the 16-year period between the Magellan spacecraft and Venus Express visits, with a ...
Mead Crater is the largest impact crater on Venus, with a diameter of 280 km (174 miles). [1] The crater has an inner and an outer ring and a small ejecta blanket surrounding the outer ring. Mead Crater is relatively shallow (likely due to viscous relaxation [ 2 ] and infilling) and the crater floor resembles surrounding plain in morphology.