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Outcrops of plastic material on the surface of Venus

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Abstract

The archive data of the television experiment performed by the Venera-14 spacecraft on the surface of the planet Venus in March, 1982, were reprocessed, which significantly improved the image definition quality. An unusual geologic object located relatively near the camera was found, which allowed its details to be analyzed. The object is a low long bank in shape; it is formed by a relatively thin, jagged, almost vertical stratum. The bank contours the oval formation 1.5–2 m across that stands out against the layered surface. The location of the bank suggests that its material is extruded from under the layered plates surrounding the oval formation. A segment of the bank resembling a falling wave is inclined and partly covers the surface by forming the beddings. The object is likely formed by the rocks that remain semisoftened (plastic), when they appear on the surface at the temperature characteristic for the Venusian surface (about 740 K). It is suggested that, from the data on the physical and chemical conditions and the composition of the Venusian surface, the nature of the observed plastic medium can be hypothesized, and it can be even modeled under laboratory conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    L. V. Ksanfomality

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  1. L. V. Ksanfomality
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Correspondence to L. V. Ksanfomality.

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Original Russian Text © L.V. Ksanfomality, 2015, published in Astronomicheskii Vestnik, 2015, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 176–181.

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Ksanfomality, L.V. Outcrops of plastic material on the surface of Venus. Sol Syst Res 49, 159–164 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0038094615030053

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0038094615030053

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