New Map Hints At Venus' Wet, Volcanic Past 118
Matt_dk writes with this excerpt from Space Fellowship: "Venus Express has charted the first map of Venus' southern hemisphere at infrared wavelengths. The new map hints that our neighbouring world may once have been more Earth-like, with a plate tectonics system and an ocean of water. The map comprises over a thousand individual images, recorded between May 2006 and December 2007. Because Venus is covered in clouds, normal cameras cannot see the surface, but Venus Express used a particular infrared wavelength that can see through them."
Re:Volcanic, or just really hot? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Interesting, but was already assumed (Score:2, Informative)
Umm... someone correct me, but doesn't Venus have a pretty THICK atmosphere, rather? Just with insane pressure and a composition that would even make smog-accustomed LA residents refuse to take a breath?
Define "quite terra-formable" (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Interesting, but was already assumed (Score:3, Informative)
You're thinking of a Lagrange point [wikipedia.org]. It's analagous to a geostationary orbit -- it's position is fixed in space relative to two large masses.