Venus Atmosphere Observed by the Venus Monitoring Camera on Venus Express

Details Venus Atmosphere Observed by the Venus Monitoring Camera on Venus Express Venus Atmosphere Observed by the Venus Monitoring Camera on Venus Express

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.4806l&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #48.06

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) continues to collect images of Venus at four wavelengths (centered at 365, 513, 935 and 1010nm with 40, 50, 70 and 20 nm bandpass respectively) from the Venus Express Orbiter since April 2006. The highly eccentric polar orbit of Venus Express provides a good view of the southern hemisphere on each 24-hour orbit with a periapsis altitude of only 200 km and located near the northern Venus pole. Over more than three years of observations, VMC images indicate a range of global cloud morphologies and changes in the hemispheric vortex circulation. Small scale waves of different types have been seen at very high northern latitudes, and combined analysis of VMC and Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) data indicate that the ultraviolet cloud tops generally slope from al altitude of 70 km at low latitudes to a low of 65 km at polar latitudes with some variations at high latitudes and in the core of the vortex.
Global atmospheric circulation has been monitored from both visual tracking and automated digital tracking methods. The results show the presence of thermal tides and temporal variations. The peculiar cloud morphology and the combination of image spatial resolution and time interval between images obtained from the eccentric orbit however are limiting factors in precise cloud tracking results.
Continued coverage of Venus cloud cover is anticipated through 2012 pending an extension of the Venus Express mission by ESA in fall 2009. This research was supported by NASA Grant NNX09AE85G.

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