About this episode
This episode discusses the volcanic features of Venus, particularly the pancake domes.
You might want to have the butter and the Mrs. Butterworth’s handy for this one – it’s all about pancakes. Some of them are as big as a major city. There are only two problems: They’re made out of dense volcanic rock, and they’re on the planet Venus. Venus is covered with many thousands of volcanic features – lava plains, cone-shaped mountains, and structures that look like crowns and spiders. Most of the features are old, but there are hints that the planet is still volcanically active today. The list of features includes pancake domes. There are scores of them – some by themselves, but many in groups. They’re almost perfectly round and flat. They can be up to a few dozen miles across, and more than half a mile tall. And their edges are steep – almost-sheer cliffs. The domes probably formed when thick molten rock bubbled to the surface. It spread out in all directions. And it continued to spread well after the lava spigot was turned off. A study published last year said that some of the pancakes dented the surface below them – perhaps one reason they’re so flat. That dimple created a moat around one of the domes…
People in this episode
Host: Damond Benningfield
Topics covered
- Venus
- pancake domes
- volcanic activity
- astronomy
Keywords
- lava plains
- volcanic features
- evening star
- crescent Moon
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Mrs. Butterworth's
Places: Venus, Moon
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