WASHINGTON—A fresh analysis of radar images obtained more than three decades ago has yielded new evidence indicating Venus, Earth’s planetary next-door neighbor, is currently volcanically active—a dynamic world with eruptions and lava flows.
Researchers said on Wednesday radar images taken by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft showed that a volcanic vent about a mile (1.6 km) wide on the Venusian surface expanded and changed shape over an eight-month span in 1991. The vent is situated on Maat Mons, which at about 5 miles (9 km) tall is the planet’s highest volcano and second-highest mountain.
A February 1991 image showed the vent as a circular formation covering about one square mile (2.6 square km). An October 1991 image showed the vent with an irregular shape covering about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square km)….