Astronomy Picture of the Day 3-30-02

NASA ^ | 3-30-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 March 30

Venus Unveiled
Credit: Magellan Project, JPL, NASA

Explanation: The surface of Venus is perpetually covered by a veil of thick clouds and remains hidden from even the powerful telescopic eyes of earth-bound astronomers. But in the early 1990s, using imaging radar, the Venus orbiting Magellan spacecraft was able to lift the veil from the face of Venus and produced spectacular high resolution images of the planet's surface. Colors used in this computer generated picture of Magellan radar data are based on color images from the surface of Venus transmitted by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 landers. The bright area running roughly across the middle represents the largest highland region of Venus known as Aphrodite Terra.

[petuniasevan]

Venus is a near-twin of Earth in size, but is a vastly more hostile environment.
High atmospheric pressure with lead-melting temperatures of around 900° Fahrenheit make this a place to admire from a distance.

As always, ask to be added to the APOD PING list!

[petuniasevan]

APOD PING!

[petuniasevan]

Thanks for giving this thread its own topic.

[riley1992]

Good Lord. What an amazing sight. My children are right here and both of them just literally gasped when they saw the photo.

[dansangel]

Thanks so much for the breathtaking ping!

JR: How wonderful of you to give this thread its own topic! You rock!

[aomagrat]

Wow!

[petuniasevan]

Learn more about Venus at the NASA JPL Solar System Exploration Page. Kid-friendly, too!

[Calculus_of_Consent]

Notice the triangular patch at the bottom of venus. I guess it really is a female planet.

[Graewoulf]

Thanks for this great image! I do a lot of work with fracture patterns, so I doubly appreciate this high resolution image.

[petuniasevan]

Now the Astronomy Picture of the Day has its own topic!

Click on the topic and subscribe for all the great images I've posted!

[trussell]

Please add me to your ping list, thank you.

[aimhigh]

Looks like it's covered with dirt bike tracks.

[swampfox98]

Thanks so much! I have bookmarked this site. I had it years ago, but forgot about it when I changed computers.

[Vigilantcitizen]

Thanks for what is becoming my favorite ping! Bump back at ya.