A Radar Image of Venus
Explanation:
The largest radio telescopes in the world are working
together to create a new map of the surface of Venus.
The surface of
Venus
is unusually hidden by a
thick atmosphere of mostly
carbon dioxide gas.
These
thick clouds are transparent,
however, to
radar signals sent and received from Earth.
The two
radio telescopes generating the
most powerful radar ever are the
Arecibo Telescope in
Puerto Rico and the new
Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in
West Virginia.
The new survey will resolve details as fine a one-kilometer across,
and will be inspected for changes since the
last major radar map was made by NASA's
Magellan spacecraft that orbited
Venus from 1990 to 1994.
Pictured above is part of a preliminary image showing
details as small as five-kilometers across.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
