anth
Member
|
# Posted: 15 Apr 2006 00:34
Reply
First ever images of Venus south pole
Venus Express has beamed the first ever images of the Venusian south pole back to Earth.
An unexpected swirl can be seen around the pole. In this the first image released by the European Space Agency. The images were taken 12 April during the spacecraft’s initial capture orbit after successful arrival on 11 April 2006.
Scientists are especially intrigued by the dark vortex shown almost directly over the south pole, a previously suspected but until now unconfirmed structure that corresponds to a similar cloud structure over the north pole. “Just one day after arrival, we are already experiencing the hot, dynamic environment of Venus,” said Dr Hakan Svedhem, Venus Express project scientist. “We will see much more detail at an unprecedented level as we get over 100 times better resolution as we get closer to Venus, and we expect to see these spiral structures evolve very quickly.”
These are probably the best early mission images i've seen. We can certainly look forward to Venus Express unlocking many secrets at the planet, and alsoo some stunning images once the craft is set up to take full res pictures.
|
