Venusian Channels
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Venusian Channels
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) that preserves geologic structures for long periods of time. Studies of the Venusian surface are based on imaging, radar, and altimetry data collected from several exploratory space probes, particularly ''Magellan (spacecraft), Magellan'', since 1961 (see Venus#Exploration, Venus Exploration). Despite its similarities to Earth in size, mass, density, and possibly composition, Venus has a unique geology that is unlike Earth's. Although much older than Earth's, the surface of Venus is relatively young compared to other terrestrial planets (<500 million years old), possibly due to a global-scale resurfacing event that buried much of the previous rock record ...
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Theia Mons
Theia Mons is a large highland shield volcano on the planet Venus. Located near the center of Beta Regio, a large region of recent volcanic uplift due to a currently active mantle plume, Theia Mons is situated at the junction of three branches of Devana Chasma, an extensive rift system. It is named after Theia, a Titan from Greek mythology; the name Theia Mons was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1979. Geology Situated in a region of widespread tectonic activity, Theia Mons formed after tectonic rifting at Devana Chasma was initiated. Three major rifts radiate from Theia Mons's edifice. The south arm—which extends to Phoebe Regio—and the north arm collectively comprise Devana Chasma. The southwest arm, which is smaller, forms Žverine Chasma. Volcanic flows from Theia Mons largely fill in these rift branches up to from its central caldera. The location of these rifts suggest that Theia Mons's formation and evolution may be linked to an ...
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Mons (planetary Nomenclature)
Mons (plural: montes , from the Latin word for "mountain") is a mountain on a celestial body. The term is used in planetary nomenclature: it is a part of the international names of such features. It is capitalized and usually stands after the proper given name, but stands before it in the case of lunar mountains (for example, there is a Martian mountain Arsia Mons and a lunar mountain Mons Argaeus). The term '' tholus'' ("dome") is used for names of smaller (especially domical) uplands, and the term '' colles'' ("hills") in names of groups of still smaller knobs. Peculiar round mountains found on Venus get names with the term '' farrum''. Nature of montes The term ''mons'', like other terms of planetary nomenclature, describes only the external view of the feature, but not its origin or geological structure. It is used for mountains of any origin, and objects in this class are very diverse. Usually they are results of tectonic, impact or volcanic processes. Examples of such ...
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Aphrodite Terra
Aphrodite Terra is one of the three continental regions on the planet Venus, the others being Ishtar Terra and Lada Terra. It is named for Aphrodite, the Greek equivalent of the goddess Venus, and is found near the equator of the planet. Aphrodite Terra is about half the size of Africa, making it the largest of the terrae. Description Aphrodite Terra was named by the International Astronomical Union, the governing body for planetary and satellite nomenclature, after Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The name was chosen because Aphrodite is the Greek equivalent of the Roman goddess Venus. Located near the equator of Venus, Aphrodite Terra has an area about half the size of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ..., and is much larger than the rougher Ishtar Terra ...
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Ishtar Terra
Ishtar Terra is the second largest of the three continental terrae regions on the planet Venus, the others being Aphrodite Terra and Lada Terra. It is a highland region named after the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, and is found in the north of the planet. Note that Ishtar Terra is located near the negative pole if Venus's rotation is defined as prograde by the right-hand rule. The rotation of the planet is commonly characterized as retrograde in order to correlate its northern hemisphere with Earth's, in which case Ishtar Terra is near the north pole. This is the convention normally used for maps. In size, it is roughly between Australia and the contiguous United States, making it the second-largest of the terrae. On its eastern edge lies the great mountain chain Maxwell Montes, which is about high, compared to Mount Everest at . On one side of the mountain chain is the impact crater Cleopatra, in diameter filled with lava. Ishtar Terra contains the four main mountain rang ...
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Tessera (Venus)
A tessera (plural tesserae) is a region of heavily deformed terrain on Venus, characterized by two or more intersecting tectonic elements, high topography, and subsequent high radar backscatter. Tesserae often represent the oldest material at any given location and are among the most tectonically deformed terrains on Venus's surface. Diverse types of tessera terrain exist. It is not currently clear if this is due to a variety in the interactions of Venus's mantle with regional crustal or lithospheric stresses, or if these diverse terrains represent different locations in the timeline of crustal plateau formation and fall. Multiple models of tessera formation exist and further extensive studies of Venus's surface are necessary to fully understand this complex terrain. Exploration Pioneer Venus Orbiter detected regions of anomalous radar properties and high backscatter. Using Synthetic aperture radar, SAR imaging, the Venera 15 and Venera 16 orbiters revealed these regions to be c ...
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Leda Planitia
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is classified as a terrestrial planet. 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. It has shield and composite volcanoes similar to those found on Earth. Valles Cytherean valleys are called by the Latin term ''valles'', and are named after river goddesses or after words for the planet Venus (including terms for the ''morning star'' or ''evening star'' specifically) in various languages. Undae Undae, dune fields, are named after desert goddesses. Tesserae Tessera (Venusian geography), Tesserae are areas of polygonal terrain. They are named after goddesses in world mythologies. Rupes Escarpment, Scarps on Venus are called rupes and are named after goddesses of the hearth. ...
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Beta Regio
Beta Regio is a region of the planet Venus known as a ''volcanic rise''. Measuring about in extent, it constitutes a prominent upland region of Venus centered at . The first features that showed up in early radar surveys of the planet were given the names of letters of the Greek alphabet. Beta Regio was one of those features. It was discovered and named by Dick Goldstein in 1964. The name was approved by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) between 1976 and 1979. Maxwell Montes, Alpha Regio, and Beta Regio are the three exceptions to the rule that the surface features of Venus are to be named for women or goddesses. Volcanic rises are broad, sloping highlands over across. They are cut by deep troughs across. These troughs are an example of continental rifting, and are evidence of surface tectonism Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and ...
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Bell Regio
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is classified as a terrestrial planet. 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. It has shield and composite volcanoes similar to those found on Earth. Valles Cytherean valleys are called by the Latin term ''valles'', and are named after river goddesses or after words for the planet Venus (including terms for the ''morning star'' or ''evening star'' specifically) in various languages. Undae Undae, dune fields, are named after desert goddesses. Tesserae Tesserae are areas of polygonal terrain. They are named after goddesses in world mythologies. Rupes Scarps on Venus are called rupes and are named after goddesses of the hearth. Tholi Tholi are areas of small domical ...
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Corona (planetary Geology)
In planetary geology, a corona (plural: coronae ) is an oval-shaped feature. Coronae appear on both the planet Venus and Uranus's moon Miranda and may be formed by upwellings of warm material below the surface. Coronae on Venus The geodynamic surface of Venus is dominated by patterns of basaltic volcanism, and by compressional and extensional tectonic deformation, such as the highly deformed tesserae terrain and the concentrically-fractured coronae. On Venus, coronae are large (typically several hundred kilometres across), crown-like, volcanic features. Coronae were first identified in 1983, when the radar imaging equipment aboard the Venera 15 and Venera 16 spacecraft produced higher-resolution images of some features previously thought to be impact craters. It is believed that coronae are formed when plumes of rising hot material in the mantle push the crust upwards into a dome shape, which then collapses in the centre as the molten magma cools and leaks out at the sid ...
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Shield Volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano. Repeated eruptions result in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano's distinctive form. Shield volcanoes are found wherever fluid, low-silica lava reaches the surface of a rocky planet. However, they are most characteristic of ocean Volcanic island, island volcanism associated with Hotspot (geology), hot spots or with Rift, continental rift volcanism. They include the largest active volcanoes on Earth, such as Mauna Loa. Giant shield volcanoes are found on other planets of the Solar System, including Olympus Mons on Mars and Sapas Mons on Venus. Etymology The term 'shield volcano' is taken from the German term ''Schildvulkan'', coined by the Austrian geologist Eduar ...
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