In
astrogeology, an arachnoid is a large geological structure resembling a
spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey.
Spi ...
. They are of unknown origin, and have been found only on the surface of the
planet Venus. They appear as
concentric
In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center p ...
ovals surrounded by a complex network of
fracture
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...
s, and can span 200 kilometers. Over 90 arachnoids have been identified on Venus.
Arachnoids could be related to
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
s, however it is also possible that different arachnoids are formed by different processes.
[This article contains text from the ]Astronomy Picture of the Day
Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation wr ...
br>
As a work of the United States Federal Government, it is in the public domain. One possible explanation is that an upwelling of magma from the interior of the planet pushed up on the surface, causing cracks. An alternate theory concerning their origin is that they are a precursor to
Corona (planetary geology), coronae formation.
Much of what is known about arachnoids is the result of studies performed by C.B. Dawson and L.S. Crumpler.
See also
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Chaos terrain
In astrogeology, chaos terrain, or chaotic terrain, is a planetary surface area where features such as ridges, cracks, and plains appear jumbled and enmeshed with one another. Chaos terrain is a notable feature of the planets Mars and Mercury, Ju ...
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Geysers on Mars
Martian geysers (or jets) are putative sites of small gas and dust eruptions that occur in the south polar region of Mars during the spring thaw. "Dark dune spots" and "spiders" – or araneiforms – are the two most visible types of featur ...
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Pancake dome
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Rille
Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wi ...
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Coronae
References
External links
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{{Venus
''This article incorporates text from a public-domain
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
website.''
Surface features of Venus
Geology of Venus
Planetary geology