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Venus' surface
image
Caption: This image is a computer-aided rendering of the surface of the planet Venus. Since visual light cannot penetrate the thick clouds in Venus' atmosphere, the image was obtained with radio waves. NASA's space probe Megallan, launched in 1989 mapped Venus' surface between 1990 and 1994.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Credit Link
Glossary Terms:
Planet , Terrestrial Planet , Venus , Inner Planet
Categories:
Solar System
License: Public Domain Public Domain icons
File
( image
1.68 MB)
Venus in visible light
image
Caption: This picture taken by NASA's Mariner 10 probe shows what the planet Venus looks like when looking at it with naked eyes. Venus is enshrouded inside a thick cloudy atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide, never revealing its hot surface.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credit Link
Glossary Terms:
Planet , Terrestrial Planet , Venus , Inner Planet
Categories:
Solar System
License: Public Domain Public Domain icons
File
( image
94.31 kB)
Atmosphere of Venus
image
Caption: This image of Venus was captured in ultraviolet light by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and highlights features of the planet’s thick atmosphere that are not visible in ordinary light. Venus has a dense, cloudy atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide. In ultraviolet wavelengths, patterns in the upper cloud layers become visible, revealing swirling structures and bright and dark bands caused by differences in the composition and motion of the atmosphere. These ultraviolet features help scientists map wind patterns, atmospheric circulation, and cloud dynamics high above Venus’s surface.
Unlike Earth’s atmosphere, which is relatively transparent in visible light, Venus’s atmosphere is so thick that no direct view of the surface is possible from space without special instruments. The extreme pressure and temperature near Venus’s surface are consequences of this dense gaseous envelope, making Venus a dramatic example of how different planetary atmospheres can be. This image demonstrates how observing a planet’s atmosphere in different wavelengths, such as ultraviolet, reveals details about its structure and behaviour.
Credit: NASA
Credit Link
Glossary Terms:
Atmosphere , Venus
License: Public Domain Public Domain icons
File
( image
8.09 MB)
Venus and Mercury Trails
image
Created for the OAE
Caption: Honorable mention in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images of phases of Venus.
In this composite image, both Mercury (left) and Venus (right) can be seen heading into the sunset. The phases of each are beautifully captured as they descend. Not all planets or moons in the Solar System show phases as viewed from Earth. This phenomenon occurs because the orbits of Venus and Mercury are positioned between Earth’s orbit and the Sun, sometimes allowing us to see only part of the illuminated portion of each planet. These phases are similar to the phases we see of our own Moon.
Credit: Marcella Giulia Pace (CC BY 4.0)
Glossary Terms:
Mercury , Phase , Venus
Categories:
Solar System
Tags:
astrophotography
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 4.86 MB)
Phases of Venus
image
Created for the OAE
Caption: First place winner in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images of phases of Venus.
This is a mesmerising series of images of Venus captured from Surgères, Charente-Maritime, France, over a period of six months in 2015. The phases appear similar to the phases we see of our own Moon and occur for similar reasons. Only half of Venus is illuminated by the Sun and, from Earth, we can sometimes only see part of that illuminated half, depending on the relative positions of the Sun, Earth and Venus. Both Mercury and Venus exhibit phases because their orbit is between the Sun and the orbit of Earth. Depending on the position of Venus relative to the Sun and Earth, Venus goes through its phases over a period of time. This sequence of images beautifully showcases the transition from the ‘gibbous’ to the slender crescents. The use of infrared filters helped to capture Venus's dense perpetual cloud cover during daylight in sharp detail, providing a glimpse into the mysterious nature of the planet’s atmosphere.
Credit: Stephane Gonzales/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)
Glossary Terms:
Phase , Venus
Categories:
Solar System
Tags:
astrophotography
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( image 1.43 MB)
