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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Venus' south pole

Venus' south pole
Venus' south pole A view of Venus in the thermal infrared, at a wavelength of 5 microns. The brightest part of the image is the uppermost atmosphere reflecting solar radiation on the dayside of Venus. On the nightside, subtle cloud features are visible, especially near the south pole, as thermal radiation is emitted from Venus' upper atmosphere at an altitude of around 60 kilometers. This image was captured on April 12, 2006 from a distance of 210,000 kilometers. ESA / VIRTIS / INAF-IASF / Obs. de Paris-LESIA