Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2020 October 27

                          Venusian Volcano Imagined
             Illustration Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Peter Rubin

   Explanation: What would an erupting volcano on Venus look like?
   Evidence of currently active volcanoes on Venus was announced earlier
   this year with the unexplained warmth of regions thought to contain
   only ancient volcanoes. Although large scale images of Venus have been
   taken with radar, thick sulfuric acid clouds would inhibit the taking
   of optical light vistas. Nevertheless, an artist's reconstruction of a
   Venusian volcano erupting is featured. Volcanoes could play an
   important role in a life cycle on Venus as they could push chemical
   foods into the cooler upper atmosphere where hungry microbes might
   float. Pictured, the plume from an erupting volcano billows upwards,
   while a vast lava field covers part of the hot and cracked surface of
   Earth's overheated twin. The possibility of airborne microbial
   Venusians is certainly exciting, but currently controversial.

                An APOD Described on TikTok: By astrokirsten
                       Tomorrow's picture: big lobster
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.7.18 (GNU/Linux-x86_64)