acid clouds

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Range :  60,000 miles This image is a false-color version of a near- infrared map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard Galileo.  Taken at an infrared wavelength of 2.3 microns (about three times the longest wavelength visible to the human eye) the map shows the turbulent, cloudy middle atmosphere some 30-33 miles above the surface, 6-10 miles below the visible cloudtops.  The image shows the radiant heat from the lower atmosphere (about 400 degrees F) shining through the sulfuric acid clouds, which appear as much as 10 times darker than the bright gaps between clouds.  The colors indicate relative cloud transparency; white and red show thin cloud regions, while black and blue represent relatively this clouds.  This cloud layer is at about 170 degrees F., at a pressure about 1/2 Earth's atmospheric pressure.  About 2/3 of the dark hemisphere is visible, centered on longitude 350 West, with bright slivers of daylit high clouds visible at top and bottom left.  Near the equator, the clouds appear fluffy and blocky; farther north, they are stretched out into East-West filaments by winds estimated at more than 150 mph, while the poles are capped by thick clouds at this altitude.  The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) on the Galileo is a combined mapping (imaging) and spectral instrument.  It can sense 408 contiguous wavelengths from 0.7 microns (deep red) to 5.2 microns, and can construct a map or image by mechanical scanning.  It can spectroscopic-ally analyze atmospheres and surfaces and construct thermal and chemical maps.  Designed and operated by scientists and engineers at the JPL, NIMS involves 15 scientists in the US, England and France. ARC-1990-AC91-2005

Range : 60,000 miles This image is a false-color version of a near- i...

Range : 60,000 miles This image is a false-color version of a near- infrared map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard Galileo. Taken at a... More

Range :  60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Galileo spacecraft.The map shows the turbulent, cloudy middle atmosphere some 30-33 miles above the surface, 6-10 miles below the visible cloudtops.  The image to the left  shows the radiant heat from the lower atmosphere (about 400 degrees F) ahining through the sulfuric acid clouds, which appear as much as 10 times darker than the bright gaps between clouds.  This cloud layer is at about 170 degrees F, at a pressure about 1/2 Earth's atmospheric pressure.  About 2/3 of the dark hemisphere is visible, centered on longitude 350 West, with bright slsivers of daylit high clouds visible at top and bottom left.  The right image, a modified negative, represents what scientists believe would be the visual appearance of this mid-level cloud deck in daylight, with the clouds reflecting sunlight instead of clocking out infrared from the hot planet and lower atmosphere.  Near the  equator, the clouds appear fluffy and clocky; farther north, they are stretched out into East-West filaments by winds estimated at more than 150 mph, while the poles are capped by thick clouds at this altitude.  The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) on the Galileo is a combined mapping (imaging) and spectral instrument.  It can sense 408 contiguous wavelengths from 0.7 microns (deep red) to 5.2 microns, and can construct a map or image by mechanical scanning.  It can spectroscopic-ally analyze atmospheres and surfaces and construct thermal and chemical maps. ARC-1990-A91-2002

Range : 60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed...

Range : 60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Galileo spacecraft.The ... More

Range :  1.7 million miles This colorized picture of Venus was taken about 6 days after Galileo's closest approach to the planet.  It has been colorized to a bluish hue to emphasize subtle contrasts in the cloud markings and to indicate that it was taken through a violet filter.  Features in the sulfuric acid clouds near the top of the planet's atmosphere are most prominent in violet and ultraviolet light.  This image shows the east-to-west-trending cloud banding and the brighter polar hoods familiar from past studies of Venus.  The features are embedded in winds that flow from east to west at about 230 mph.  The smallest features visible are about 45 miles across.  An intriguing filamentary dark pattern is seen immediately left of the bright region at the subsolar point (equatorial 'noon').  North is at the top and the evening terminator is to the left. ARC-1990-AC91-2004

Range : 1.7 million miles This colorized picture of Venus was taken a...

Range : 1.7 million miles This colorized picture of Venus was taken about 6 days after Galileo's closest approach to the planet. It has been colorized to a bluish hue to emphasize subtle contrasts in the clou... More

Range :  1.7 million miles This photo of Venus was taken by the Galileo spacecraft's Solid State Imaging System.  A high-pass spatial filter has been applied in order to emphasize the smaller-scale cloud features, and the rendition has been colorized to a bluish hue  in order to emphasize the subtle contrasts in the cloud markings and to indicate how it was taken through a violet filter.  The sulfuric acid clouds indicate considerable convective activity, in the equatorial regions of the planet to the left and downwind of the subsolar point (afternoon on Venus),  They are analogous to 'fair weather clouds' on Earth.  The filamentary dark features visible in the colorized image are here revealed to be composed of several dark nodules, like strings on a bead, each about 60 miles across. ARC-1990-AC91-2014

Range : 1.7 million miles This photo of Venus was taken by the Galile...

Range : 1.7 million miles This photo of Venus was taken by the Galileo spacecraft's Solid State Imaging System. A high-pass spatial filter has been applied in order to emphasize the smaller-scale cloud featur... More

Range :  60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Galileo spacecraft.The map shows the turbulent, cloudy middle atmosphere some 30-33 miles above the surface, 6-10 miles below the visible cloudtops.  The image to the left  shows the radiant heat from the lower atmosphere (about 400 degrees F) ahining through the sulfuric acid clouds, which appear as much as 10 times darker than the bright gaps between clouds.  This cloud layer is at about 170 degrees F, at a pressure about 1/2 Earth's atmospheric pressure.  About 2/3 of the dark hemisphere is visible, centered on longitude 350 West, with bright slsivers of daylit high clouds visible at top and bottom left.  The right image, a modified negative, represents what scientists believe would be the visual appearance of this mid-level cloud deck in daylight, with the clouds reflecting sunlight instead of clocking out infrared from the hot planet and lower atmosphere.  Near the  equator, the clouds appear fluffy and clocky; farther north, they are stretched out into East-West filaments by winds estimated at more than 150 mph, while the poles are capped by thick clouds at this altitude.  The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) on the Galileo is a combined mapping (imaging) and spectral instrument.  It can sense 408 contiguous wavelengths from 0.7 microns (deep red) to 5.2 microns, and can construct a map or image by mechanical scanning.  It can spectroscopic-ally analyze atmospheres and surfaces and construct thermal and chemical maps. ARC-1990-A91-2001

Range : 60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed...

Range : 60,000 miles These images are two versions of a near-infrafed map of lower-level clouds on the night side of Venus, obtained by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Galileo spacecraft.The ... More