SCIENTISTS have made a remarkable discovery on Venus that could provide a unique window into the planet’s hidden past.
Earth‘s hellish neighbour has scorching temperatures of around 462C, thick clouds of sulfuric acid and a crushingly dense atmosphere – so the presence of life is virtually impossible.
Despite being the same size and mass as Earth, these conditions mean we still don’t know very much about Venus.
But experts have now uncovered a cave on Venus, a spot that could hold key clues about the mysterious planet.
We already know that volcanic activity isn’t unique to Earth.
And lava tubes have been detected on the Moon and Mars previously.
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Now, for the first time, scientists believe they’ve found subsurface lava tube on Venus as well.
Given that lava tubes are formed underground, finding them on other planets is no easy feat.
The only real chance is spot them is when part of their roof collapses, which creates a pit we can observe from above.
Only then do you have a chance of potentially seeing a lava tube and a possible entrance to it.
But what makes finding one on Venus even more remarkable is the fact the planet is covered in thick clouds that block our view from above with standard cameras.
So instead, scientists used radar images.
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“Our knowledge of Venus is still limited, and until now we have never had the opportunity to directly observe processes occurring beneath the surface of Earth’s twin planet,” explained Professor Lorenzo Bruzzone, research co-ordinator from University of Trento.
“The identification of a volcanic cavity is therefore of particular importance, as it allows us to validate theories that for many years have only hypothesized their existence.
“This discovery contributes to a deeper understanding of the processes that have shaped Venus’s evolution and opens new perspectives for the study of the planet.”
The team used data from a tool known as the Synthetic Aperture Radar, which was aboard NASA‘s Magellan spacecraft for mapping the surface of Venus between 1990 and 1992.
It revealed a large subsurface conduit in the region of Nyx Mons, the area named after the Greek goddess of the night.
“We interpret the structure as a possible lava tube (pyroduct), with an estimated diameter of approximately one kilometer, a roof thickness of at least 150 meters and an empty void deep of no less than 375 metres,” Bruzzone added.
With two further missions to Venus planned by Nasa and the European space agency, experts are hoping new higher-resolution images and data will help them build a bigger picture of the planet.
The research was published in the Nature Communications journal.
