The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters; the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewh
The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters; the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS ------ Transit of Venus On June 5, 2012 at sunset on the East Coast of North America and earlier for other parts of the , the planet Venus will make its final trek across the face of the sun as seen from Earth until the year 2117. The last time this event occurred was on June 8, 2004 when it was watched by millions of people across the world. Get prepared for this once in a lifetime event! To read more about the 2012 Venus Transit go to: Add your photos of the Transit of Venus to our Flickr Group here:
Size: 1581px × 1581px
Photo credit: © NASA Image Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: astronomy, copy, editorial, nasa, news, night, photograph, photography, rocket, sky, space, stock
