Helen Brand, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation e Natasha Stephen, Imperial College London
If we could go sightseeing across our cosmic neighbourhood, these would be some of the best highlights.
New research suggests that Venus’ crust is broken into large blocks – the dark reddish–purple areas – that are surrounded by belts of tectonic structures shown in lighter yellow–red.
Paul K. Byrne/NASA/USGS
Researchers used decades-old radar data and found that some low-lying areas of Venus’ crust are moving and jostling. This evidence is some of the strongest yet of tectonic activity on Venus.
Puerto San Julián, in modern-day Argentina, where Ferdinand Magellan arrived on March 31, 1520.
fpdd!!/Flickr
Ferdinand Magellan coined the fantasy-inspired term “Patagonians” to describe the indigenous peoples he met. It gave rise to the region’s name.
On June 5-6, 2012, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory collected images of one of the rarest predictable solar events: the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun.
NASA/SDO, AIA
This hot, acidic neighbor with its surface veiled in thick clouds hasn’t benefited from the attention showered on Mars and the Moon. But Venus may offer insights into the fate of the Earth.