Arachnoid (astrogeology)

Arachnoid (astrogeology)

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Arachnoid (astrogeology)

Venusian arachnoid

In astrogeology, an arachnoid is a large structure of unknown origin, and they have been found only on the surface of the planet Venus. Arachnoids get their name from their resemblance to spider webs. They appear as concentric ovals surrounded by a complex network of fractures, and can span 200 kilometers. Over thirty arachnoids have been identified on Venus, so far. The arachnoid might be a strange relative to the volcano, but possibly different arachnoids are formed by different processes.

Original entry was from the Astronomy Picture of the Day; http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980120.html