GEOLOGY 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Venera 9, Mariner 2
Document Summary
Venus: 100% cloud-shrouded, 100% of the time, diameter: 12,104 km (similar to earth, gravity: 90% earth, atmosphere: 96% co2. History of investigation: phases observed by galileo (1610, atmosphere discovered in 1761 transit, surface conditions unknown prior to spacecraft visits, landmark missions. The surface in its entirety mapped by radar produced results of a bright verse dark surfaces: bright surfaces are rough and dark surfaces are smooth. Impact craters on venus: none smaller than 3 km. Small bolides burn up or disintegrate in venus"s thick atmosphere which results in no small impact craters. 2/22/17: often accompanied by ows of ejecta, may be accompanied by radar-dark splotches, which also occurs alone. Addams crater: the high surface temp. of venus assists impact melting and enable it to remain hot for long than on other planets. The cratering record on venus: random distribution of craters, hence the entire surface of venus is roughly the same age of around a few hundred million years.
