Venus Once Molten Surface
Explanation:
If you could look across Venus with
radar eyes, what might you see?
This computer reconstruction of the surface of
Venus
was created from data from the
Magellan spacecraft.
Magellan orbited Venus and used
radar to map our
neighboring
planet's
surface between 1990 and 1994.
Magellan found many
interesting surface features,
including the
large circular domes,
typically 25-kilometers across, that are
depicted above.
Volcanism
is thought to have created the
domes, although the precise mechanism remains unknown.
Venus' surface is so hot and
hostile that no
surface probe
has lasted
more than a few minutes.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
