Word: venusians
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Boston-born, Theroux in 1985 became an "accidental resident" of the city he calls "a whole flat planet with a Venusian veil of smog" after having spent ten years in the Middle East. He bought a tiny condominium in unfashionable Long Beach, best known as the final berth of the retired liner Queen Mary and as a popular haven for lesbians. The many bars where the ladies hang out, Theroux writes, "could be spotted by the combination of women waiting in line to get in and mystified sailors (from the local naval base) watching warily from across the street...
...erased by steady erosion. But while there is some evidence of wind erosion on Venus, the best explanation for the lack of cratering is periodic lava flows. Magellan has found direct evidence of such flows, including domelike upwellings and hardened streams of rock trailing down the sides of Venusian peaks. There are also signs of other geologic activity, including dramatic faulting and several distinct episodes of mountain building. But until last week the evidence didn't indicate whether the activity was still going on or had ceased millions of years ago. The case for active Venusian volcanoes...
Venus is the closest planet to Earth, and yet it retains an aura of mystery. The thick layer of clouds hiding its surface has long frustrated efforts to take a close look at the Venusian landscape...
Many scientists believe the Venusian volcanoes are still capable of erupting, and there is even a chance they may be caught in the act. After finishing a 243-day mapping mission, Magellan will start all over and do it again. Any change in the landscape that shows up in the second version -- new lava or other debris, for example -- would be strong evidence of volcanism, making Venus only the fourth body in the solar system, after Earth, Jupiter's moon Io and Neptune's moon Triton, where eruptions have been spotted...
Pioneer will continue to observe Halley's, measuring water loss and looking for oxygen, carbon, sulfur and other elements in the coma's gases, until March 6, when the sun will begin blocking the Venusian view of the comet. On that day, however, the first of an international flotilla of spacecraft will take over Halley's vigil. The Soviet probe Vega 1 will fly through the coma, passing within 6,000 miles of the nucleus. It will be followed by another Soviet craft, two Japanese probes, and the European Space Agency's Giotto, which will make the most daring pass...