Transcript Document
Chapter 6 VENUS Radius 6057 km Mass 4.689 X1024 kg Density 5250 kg/m3 Atmosphere Composition Physical Features Distinct Characteristics Discovery (Who and When) Distance from the Sun 96% CO2 3% N 0.1% Water vapor Pressure 90 atm Sulfuric Acid clouds Basaltic rock and Altered materials Low rolling hills Two raised craters called Terras Ishtar Terra Taller than Mt. Everest Clockwise spin and retrograde motion Sulfuric Acid clouds Strong lightning storms and acid rain 1-220 mph winds Prehistoric times 0.72 AU Temperatures 80 – 872 degrees Fahrenheit Orbital Period 224.7 days Rotation Time 243.0 days (longer than a year) None Moons (how many and names) Physical Characteristics Rolling planes 70% of surface 35% on Earth (continents) Lowlands 20% of surface 65 % on Earth (oceans) Highlands 10% Plains found to be made of K rich basalts and granite Meteorite craters erased by volcanic activity Intense volcanic activity as large as 1000 km diameter - Ishtar Terra 12 km high (Mt. Everest 10 km high) -Shield volcanoes formed by highly liquid lava (like Mt. St. Helens) No direct evidence of plate tectonics, but the term blob tectonics has been used to explain observations Stages of development 1. Differentiation -Heavier elements move towards the middle 2. Cratering - Caused lava to flow by breaking surface 3. Lava flows Evolution of Atmosphere Heat evaporated water Could not convert CO2 Run away green house effect Very dense atmosphere - 10 times less dense than water (Earth 1000X less dense) - We could fly with wings strapped on our arms 350 kph winds at the top of the atmosphere 1-2 kph at the surface Topography Map Venera 13 3/1/82 Venera 13 3/1/82 Venera 13 3/1/82 Venera 14 3/5/82 Adams crater Alcott Crater Cleopatra Crater Anemone Volcano Volcano Cone Cluster Pancake Volcanoes Tick Volcano Arachnid Alpha-Regio Upland Eistla Regio - Rift Valley Sinuous Channel Parallel Lines