Assessment of the Impact of Meteor Explosions on the Surface of Venus

In addition to craters, the surface of Venus contains radiatively bright and dark patches, the formation of which is believed to be caused by the impact of a shock wave. Estimates based on approximate models of asteroid deceleration in the atmosphere and point explosions substantiate the assumption that dark spots arise as a result of strong destruction (vaporization) of stones by a shock wave near the epicenter of the explosion at pressures of about 1–10 GPa, and the light outer part of the splotches is explained by the blowing away of small particles by an air flow at velocities of about 100 m/s at greater distances. Direct calculations of the fragmentation and braking of asteroids with sizes of 0.6–1 km carried out in this work showed that the maximum pressure values are significantly lower than those required to destroy the rocks, and it is concluded that a more probable mechanism for the formation of dark spots is the melting of the surface layer by thermal radiation from the bolide.