The grey-scale of the images is such that white signifies more transparency, therefore less clouds, while darker or blacker regions represent opacity, or thicker clouds.


 
This image of the Venusian south polar region was acquired on 24 September 2006 by the Ultraviolet, Visible and Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express, from a distance of about 65 000 kilometres from the planet’s surface.

The image, showing a complex cloud system, was taken on the night-side of Venus (04:00 local time), at a wavelength of 1.7 micron that allows viewing the deep atmospheric layers. The field of view covers an area located at approximately 20 degrees west longitude (diagonal top left to bottom right), spanning from the equator (at the horizon on the right) to 60 degrees southern latitude (top left corner of the image).

The grey-scale of the images is such that white signifies more transparency, therefore less clouds, while darker or blacker regions represent opacity, or thicker clouds.

The Alpha Regio area is at the bottom left of the image. This area is characterised by a series of troughs, ridges, and faults that are oriented in many directions, with surface features that can be up to 4 kilometres high. It is not yet clear if atmospheric turbulences may be induced by the rough topography below the clouds.


 
This image of the Venusian south polar region was acquired on 24 September 2006 by the Ultraviolet, Visible and Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express, from a distance of about 60 000 kilometres from the planet’s surface.

The image, taken on the night-side of Venus at a wavelength of 1.7 micron, shows waves structure (faint light vertical streaks at the lower left part of the dark band in the centre-left side of the image) and a highly turbulent region (bottom left).

The Alpha Regio area is at the bottom left of the image. This area is characterised by a series of troughs, ridges, and faults that are oriented in many directions, with surface features that can be up to 4 kilometres high. It is not yet clear if atmospheric turbulences may be induced by the rough topography below the clouds.

The grey-scale of the images is such that white signifies more transparency, therefore less clouds, while darker or blacker regions represent opacity, or thicker clouds.


 
This image of the Venusian south polar region was acquired on 24 September 2006 by the Ultraviolet, Visible and Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express, from a distance of about 53 000 kilometres from the planet’s surface.

The image, taken on the night-side of Venus at a wavelength of 1.7 micron, shows waves structure (faint light vertical streaks at the lower left part of the dark band in the centre-left side of the image) and a highly turbulent region (bottom left).

The Alpha Regio area is at the bottom left of the image. This area is characterised by a series of troughs, ridges, and faults that are oriented in many directions, with surface features that can be up to 4 kilometres high. It is not yet clear if atmospheric turbulences may be induced by the rough topography below the clouds.

The grey-scale of the images is such that white signifies more transparency, therefore less clouds, while darker or blacker regions represent opacity, or thicker clouds.


 
This image of the near-equatorial region of Venus was acquired on 24 September 2006 by the Ultraviolet, Visible and Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express, from a distance of about 37 000 kilometres from the planet’s surface.

The image, taken on the night-side of Venus at a wavelength of 1.7 micron, provides a close-up view of a highly turbulent region, with irregular and warped clouds, which is common at these low latitudes. This is different from what happens at higher latitudes (pole-ward) where clouds are generally streaky and more regularly shaped.

The gray ‘bubble’ slightly below the centre of the image is located at about 27 degrees southern latitude and 7 degrees western longitude, and has a diameter of about 300 kilometres.

The Alpha Regio area is at the bottom left of the image. This area is characterised by a series of troughs, ridges, and faults that are oriented in many directions, with surface features that can be up to 4 kilometres high. It is not yet clear if atmospheric turbulences may be induced by the rough topography below the clouds.

The grey-scale of the images is such that white signifies more transparency, therefore less clouds, while darker or blacker regions represent opacity, or thicker clouds.



Release date: 3 September 2007