Ongoing Volcanic Activity Observed On Venus, Study

Venus, the second-closest planet from the Sun, is observing ongoing volcanic activity, according to a new study.

Earlier, European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft delivered observations as recently as 2012 that showed potential signs of volcanic activity. Now, the recent study backs up the observations made by spacecraft two years ago.

"We were able to show strong evidence that Venus is volcanically, and thus internally, active today," study co-author James W. Head, a geologist at Brown University, said in a press release. "This is a major finding that helps us understand the evolution of planets like our own."

The scientists conducted their analysis on infrared images of one particular "hotspot" from a region of Venus dubbed "Ganiki Chasma," University Herald noted.

"We have now seen several events where a spot on the surface suddenly gets much hotter, and then cools down again," study lead author Eugene Shalygin, of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, told BBC News. "These four hotspots are located in what are known from radar imagery to be tectonic rift zones, but this is the first time we have detected that they are hot and changing in temperature from day to day. It is the most tantalizing evidence yet for active volcanism."

The study has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.