When Venus shook: Scientists make stunning discovery on Earth's twin planet

Venus is often called Earth's twin. Now scientists have found some more shocking similarities between the two planets. Venus is extremely hot and literally hell, with one of the densest atmospheres comprising a thick cloud cover containing sulfuric acid. It has a surface temperature of around 870 degrees Fahrenheit on average caused by the carbon dioxidelevels present in the atmosphere.

But scientists have now discovered surface features like faults, folds and volcanoes on the hellish planet, indicating that it was once tectonically active. Tectonic activity is what created continents on Earth and is a phenomenon only seen on our planet till now. But scientists say that the presence of plateaus known as "tesserae" on the Venusian surface means that the planet witnessed intense tectonic activity billions of years ago.

Research leader Fabio Capitanio from the Monash University School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment said in a statement, "We did not expect Venus, with its scorching 860 degrees Fahrenheit (460 degrees Celsius) surface temperature and lack of plate tectonics, to possess such complex geological features."

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He says that the "study [done in collaboration with NASA] challenges our understanding of how planets evolve."

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The lithosphere, the rigid outer layer of a planet's crust, comprises a number of large plates. When these plates move around in different ways, the actions help to shape a planet. Venus has a stagnant lithosphere, or "stagnant lid". This means that it only has a single plate with minimal movement. Some experts believe that Venus, early in its history, had limited tectonic movement and over a period transitioned to the stagnant lid model that exists today.

Ishtar Terra highlands on Venus

To investigate further, scientists studied the formations on Venus called the Ishtar Terra highlands. It has "an Australia-sized crustal plateau with an average elevation of around 2.5 miles (4 kilometres)," similar to the Tibetan Plateau. It is surrounded by mountain belts taller than the Himalayas, as per a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience. "The region is floored by a thick crust that is comparable to that of cratons on Earth."

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The existence of this region on Venus led scientists to believe that the two planets might share a similar geological history.

"This finding provides a fascinating new perspective on Venus and its potential links to early Earth," Capitanio said. "The features we found on Venus are strikingly similar to Earth's early continents, suggesting that the dynamics of Venus' past may have been more similar to Earth's than previously thought."