The Earth is hardly the only body in our solar system with volcanic activity. In fact, volcanic activity on Earth is actually quite tame when compared to the volcanic activity on a few other planets and quite a few moons in our Solar System. Of course, the Earth’s moon does not have a volcanic activity; however, scientists still think that the moon probably has a molten core. Compared to our moon, many moons of our Solar System are really volcanic centers.

The most highly active body in the Solar System when it comes to volcanic activity is Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. This moons surface is constantly being remade because the volcanic eruptions are so frequent and so all encompassing that the surface of the moon is constantly being remade from one material to another. The gases that these volcanoes produce turn the surface into different compounds and react with these as well to change it all yet again. The lava erupting from volcanoes on Io is hotter than lava found anywhere else in the Solar System; heats exceed 1500 degrees Celsius! This lava produces sulfuric compounds, pure sulfur, and silicate rock. This lave is what is constantly remaking the chemical surface of the moon Io.

However, Io is not the only celestial body that is volcanic in addition to the Earth. The planet Venus may or may not still be volcanically active. What is clear however is that volcanic activity played a fundamental role in making Venus into the composition that it is today. Volcanic eruptions were undoubtedly one of the most formative activities that made the surface of the planet Venus into the planet that it is today. Mars also has evidence of a lot of volcanic activity in its distant history. Astronomers have thought for a long time that volcanic activity on Mars was completely over and done with; however, new discoveries from high-resolution telescopes are suggesting that perhaps there was some volcanic activity on Mars in the more recent history than was previously thought.

In addition to Jupiter’s moons having volcanic activity, recent shuttle pictures have shown that some of Saturn and Neptune’s moons also have volcanic activity. Just what kind of activity, specifically, is not yet known, but astronomers and scientists are still actively watching to try to figure out what exactly all this volcanic activity really is. Scientists are studying the Solar System with keen curiosity, not only to find out what’s happening out there on far-away planets, but also in an effort to find out more about the life cycle of volcanoes and how they might react differently at different distances from the sun and with very different temperate environments. While no sort of biological life like is find here on Earth has been found in our Solar System, the bodies that make up our Solar System are far from completely dead, inanimate bodies. There is a lot of life in the Solar System, perhaps not the standard definition of life, but when all this volcanic activity is examined, it’s hard to say that everything is dead because these areas are continuously changing.

What’s already crystal clear is that the Earth has many things in common with other bodies in our Solar System even though on first glance that doesn’t always seem to be the case. The fact is that a lot of what’s happening here on Earth is also happening, in some form or another, elsewhere in the Solar System. The Earth is not the only thing orbiting the sun and the Earth is not the only body with smaller bodies orbiting it. In addition, volcanoes are not strictly for the Earth. With this knowledge, outer space doesn’t seem like such an alien concept any more.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS