APOD: 2023 July 3 Б Venus in Ultraviolet from Akatsuki
Explanation:
Why is Venus so different from Earth?
To help find out,
Japan launched the robotic
Akatsuki spacecraft which
entered orbit around Venus late
in 2015 after an unplanned five-year adventure around the inner
Solar System.
Even though Akatsuki was past its original planned lifetime,
the spacecraft and instruments were operating
so well that much of its original mission was
reinstated.
Also known as the
Venus
Climate Orbiter,
Akatsuki's
instruments
investigated unknowns about Earth's sister planet, including whether
volcanoes are still active,
whether lightning occurs in the dense atmosphere, and why wind speeds
greatly exceed the planet's rotation speed.
In the featured image taken by
Akatsuki's
UVI camera, the day-side of
Venus is seen shown with planet-scale
V-shaped cloud pattern.
The image displays three
ultraviolet
colors and indicates a dip in the relative abundance of
sulfur dioxide
shown in faint blue.
Analyses of
Akatsuki images
and data has shown, among
other discoveries, that Venus has
equatorial jet similar to
Earth's jet stream.
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.
