Parker Solar Probe Captures Stunning New Images of Venus – Faint Glow Detected
In the time since Parker Solar Probe captured its first visible light images of Venus’ surface from orbit in July 2020, a subsequent flyby has allowed the spacecraft to gather more images, creating a video of Venus’ entire nightside. A full analysis of the images and video, published on Feb. 9, 2022, in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is adding to scientists’ understanding of the planet likened as Earth’s twin.
The images, combined into a video, reveal a faint glow from the surface that shows distinctive features like continental regions, plains, and plateaus. A luminescent halo of oxygen in the atmosphere can also be seen surrounding the planet.
“We’re thrilled with the science insights Parker Solar Probe has provided thus far,” said Nicola Fox, division director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “Parker continues to outperform our expectations, and we are excited that these novel observations taken during our gravity assist maneuver can help advance Venus research in unexpected ways.”
Such images of the planet, often called Earth’s twin, can help scientists learn more about Venus’ surface geology, what minerals might be present there, and the planet’s evolution. Given the similarities between the planets, this information can help scientists on the quest to understand why Venus became inhospitable and Earth became an oasis.
“Venus is the third brightest thing in the sky, but until recently we have not had much information on what the surface looked like because our view of it is blocked by a thick atmosphere,” said Brian Wood, lead author on the new study and physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. “Now, we finally are seeing the surface in visible wavelengths for the first time from…
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