Venus Express bistatic radar: High-elevation anomalous reflectivity

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Radio Science: Radar Astronomy, Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Venus, Radio Science: Remote Sensing, Physical Properties Of Rocks: Magnetic And Electrical Properties (0925), Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Remote Sensing

Scientific paper

Magellan (MGN) bistatic radar observations in 1994 confirmed earlier Pioneer Venus reports of unusual Venus surface reflectivity and emissivity at elevations above 6054 km radius. They also revealed that the anomalous values of surface dielectric constant $\varepsilon$ near Cleopatra Patera included a large imaginary component ($\varepsilon$ ≈ -i 100) at 13 cm wavelength, consistent with a semiconducting surface material. The MGN observations were conducted using a linearly polarized wave, canted at 45° with respect to the plane of incidence and radiated by the MGN synthetic aperture radar antenna toward the specularly reflecting region of the mean planetary surface. In 2006 similar experiments were conducted using 13 cm circularly polarized transmissions from Venus Express (VEX). The VEX signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was lower than that of MGN, but elevated ∣$\varepsilon$∣ has been inferred broadly over Maxwell Montes. A quasi-specular echo was detected near Cleopatra but with insufficient SNR to address the question of conductivity. An early failure of the VEX 13 cm radio system precludes further measurements with VEX.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Venus Express bistatic radar: High-elevation anomalous reflectivity does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Venus Express bistatic radar: High-elevation anomalous reflectivity, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Venus Express bistatic radar: High-elevation anomalous reflectivity will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1630659

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.