Scientific American<\/em> 320\/2 (February 2019): 56-63. \u00a0Here\u2019s my last batch of notes from that, to me, intriguing article:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Earth, volcanism \u2014 which now seems to be present on Venus, as well \u2014 is typically associated with plate tectonics. \u00a0Plate tectonics is the shifting and sliding of large pieces of our planet\u2019s surface crust that creates most of its visible geological features. \u00a0Many argue that plate tectonics is essential to the existence of life, since it permits the planet to lose its internal heat and, thus, to cool to the point where life might arise and survive. \u00a0By forming new crust at Earth\u2019s mid-ocean ridges, tectonics releases water, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide from deep within the planet into the atmosphere. \u00a0(Without volcanism, there would be little surface water.) \u00a0It also cycles chemicals back deep into the mantle of the Earth as one plate slips underneath another. \u00a0Tectonics also produces continents, of course, which are rather helpful to terrestrial life forms.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lithosphere on Venus \u2014 the outer crusty layer characterized by rocks (from Greek \u03bb\u1fd0\u0301\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2 [lithos<\/em>, \u201cstone,\u201d \u201crock\u201d]\u00a0\u2014 is warm and thin these days, much as it is believed to have been on Earth back when terrestrial plate tectonics began. \u00a0So, is geological history repeating itself on Venus, in a sense?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The irony here is that plate tectonics, which produces earthquakes, and volcanism seem to us negative things that our planet would be much better off without. \u00a0But science is transforming our too-limited viewpoint: Without these things, we wouldn\u2019t be here.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Venus is a really interesting place to study in its own right, but also because of what it might teach us about other planets that are vastly further away and, for that reason, much harder to observe. \u00a0But it\u2019s also potentially important for what it can teach us about the planet on which we currently live.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year, 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will be soliciting proposals for the use of its smallest class of space probes, the \u201cDiscovery\u201d missions. \u00a0The final results of this competition will be out in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s about time. \u00a0As the authors of this article conclude:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearly 30 years after Magellan arrived at Venus, the generation of scientists who launched Magellan is growing old and retiring. \u00a0A mission to Venus now would allow researchers to pass the torch to a new generation who can bring us closer to understanding why our planetary sister evolved so differently from Earth. \u00a0Perhaps we may even discover what conditions are necessary for the emergence of life. \u00a0(63)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019ve posted some prior notes (see\u00a0\u201cThe Exoplanet Next Door\u201d\u00a0and \u201cRevisiting Venus\u201d) from M. Darby Dyar, Suzanne E. Smrekar, and Stephen R. Kane, \u201cThe Exoplanet Next Door: What Venus can teach us about planets far beyond our solar system,\u201d Scientific American 320\/2 (February 2019): 56-63. \u00a0Here\u2019s my last batch of notes from that, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1525,2908,1017,1050,2872,2866,1531,3178],"class_list":["post-69736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-earth","tag-exoplanet","tag-exoplanets","tag-geology","tag-nasa","tag-plate-tectonics","tag-venus","tag-volcanism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>