Venus Express is not the only spacecraft which could view the surface of Venus like this. The Parker Solar Probe uses gravity assists at Venus to shape its orbit to make close approaches to the sun, and can image the night side as described here:

https://www.nasa.gov/general/parker-solar-probe-captures-its-first-images-of-venus-surface-in-visible-light-confirmed/

You can see the pictures at that link. The article mentions a paper which is open-access so I hope anyone who wants it can read it:

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL096302

The last mission I will mention was Japanese... tomorrow!
#venus

Plate #tectonics represents a defining framework of modern #geoscience, accounting for large-scale features on Earth’s surface, such as mountains and valleys, as well as the processes that shape them, like volcanoes and earthquakes.

Present-day plate tectonics have not been observed on any other world in the solar system, and evidence of past activity on planets such as #Mars and #Venus is circumstantial.

Perhaps the best case for extraterrestrial plate tectonics is found in the floating ice shell of #Jupiter’s #moon #Europa.

The plate tectonics on Europa differs from its Earthly analog. It is spatially widespread; it is regionally confined rather than globally connected; it occurs intermittently and is not happening now; and during past activity, plates drifted limited distances of between 10 and 100 kilometers.

#planets
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/europas-plate-tectonic-activity-is-unlike-earths

Paper by Collins et al. (2022):
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007492

Moving on to active volcanism, I was simplifying by only talking about temperature anomalies as a possible way to detect an eruption - there are other things we can look for in the data - but several lines of evidence do suggest active eruptions:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Venus_Express/Venus_Express_reboots_the_search_for_active_volcanoes_on_Venus

https://newsroom.usra.edu/scientists-find-evidence-that-venus-has-active-volcanoes/

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-scientists-evidence-venus-volcanoes.html

(all these are backed up by papers... see especially

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009281925000716

if you are able to access it)

#venus #venusexpress

Testo della canzone “Venus” di Lady Gaga
#LadyGaga #Venus
https://daletra.online/lady-gaga/testi/venus.html

Let's start with filling in gaps in Magellan altimetry. Obviously the Venus Express surface temperature maps are much lower resolution, so no big changes in our understanding of Venus. This ESA release shows the gaps (triangular crosshatched areas) overlaid on a map where colours are temperatures. Elevations are shown as contour lines and match temperatures quite well.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2009/07/The_new_temperature_map_of_Venus_southern_hemisphere

My map adds a few names for orientation.
#venus #venusexpress

Venus gazes at Mars lovingly, but he doesn't notice because he's fallen asleep. Naughty little satyrs try to wake him. The two gods were modelled on Simonetta Vespucci and Giuliano de' Medici, it's been sentimentally claimed. By Sandro Botticelli, c. 1445–1510,

https://universalcompendium.com//gen_images/ucg/botticelli%20sandro/venus-mars-botticelli-painting.htm

#art #painting #love #venus

Deep beneath the surface of distant #exoplanets known as super-earths, oceans of molten rock may be powering magnetic fields strong enough to shield entire planets from dangerous cosmic #radiation and other harmful high-energy particles.

A strong magnetic field is very important for #life on a #planet but most of the terrestrial #planets in the solar system, such as #Venus and #Mars, do not have them because their cores don’t have the right physical conditions to generate a magnetic field.

However, super-earths can produce dynamos in their core and/or magma, which can increase their planetary #habitability.

Many super-earths orbit within their #stars’ habitable zones, where liquid #water could exist.

By studying their compositions, atmospheres, and magnetic fields, scientists are uncovering clues about the origins of planetary systems and signs of conditions that might allow life to thrive elsewhere.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://astrobiology.com/2026/01/hidden-magma-oceans-could-shield-rocky-exoplanets-from-harmful-radiation.html

Paper by Nakajima et al. (2026):
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02729-x

"Men need to have sex in order to feel loved. Women need to feel loved in order to have sex."

Maybe there is some truth to this paradoxical saying...

#sex #men #women #Mars #Venus #love #relationships

19.52: #Venus is i/h aphelium. De afstand v/d planeet tot de #Zon is op dit moment groter dan gemiddeld: circa 0,728AE, of zo'n 108,943 miljoen km. Vanaf #Venus lijkt de #Zon circa 1,4 maal zo groot als vanaf de #Aarde. De planeet ontvangt door de geringere afstand tot de #Zon ongeveer 1,8 maal meer licht en warmte dan de Meer info: https://hemel.waarnemen.com/astrokal/

🪷 Now war god #Mars leaves stodgy #Capricorn and joins the Sun, #Mercury #Venus & #Pluto in free-thinking #Aquarius. The next 2 months are ideal for exploring the vastness of cyber worlds to curate the ultimate social-media presence. Full details here: antinousstars.blogspot.com/2022/03/astro- 🪷

These surface maps have very low spatial resolution but they do show the surface. We can do two things with this. First, there are some gaps in Magellan radar altimetry which can be filled in. Second... what if the temperature of an area is not only related to elevation? A recent lava flow would show up as anomalously warm. It would look like a depression where no depression should be. Can we find any examples suggesting recent activity?
#venus #venusexpress

The two maps I show here show the region around Phoebe Regio, south of Beta Regio. The map at left is from here:

https://www.planetary.org/articles/1229

It shows temperatures at the surface of Venus observed by the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express. Blue is cooler (high elevations), red is warmer and lower. At right is a Magellan radar global mosaic with elevation colour-coded (blue = low, red = high). Letters show corresponding locations.
#venus #venusexpress

Yes, we can. Here is that area on the map I posted earlier.

The infrared image from Venus Express - its VIRTIS instrument - is showing those large tectonic features (Dali Chasma, Diana Chasma). So we know this is possible. Tomorrow, a different view of a broader area.
#venus #venusexpress

It turns out that at some infrared wavelengths the surface of Venus can be detected through the clouds. Infrared - we associate it with temperature and indeed it seems we are seeing the surface temperature which is lower at high elevations. Here is an ESA release on the topic:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2007/07/Thermal_and_radar_maps_of_Venus_surface_compared

The text suggests the image at right is a radar image of Venus but it is really a rendered image of the altimetry data. Can we find it on a map?
#venus #venusexpress

@PhilStooke
🤣👍!
Here's that planetary colonoscopy video (polar vortex) of Venus for the lazy among us who wouldn't click on the link.

https://sci.esa.int/web/venus-express/-/48598-the-southern-polar-vortex-on-venus

#Venus #VenusExpress #solarocks #space #ESA

2026-01-20 12:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-01-13)

VENUS
- Distance (km): 255,515,538.19 km (-360,879.30 km)
- Distance (AU): 1.71 (-0.00)
- Light travel time: 14 min 12.31 s (-1.20 s)
- Orbital speed: 34.78 km/s (-0.01 km/s)

Image: Magellan Perspective View of Ovda Regio, 15° N, 77° E
Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS

#Venus #Space #SolarSystem

ESA's #EnVision mission is set to launch in 2031, heading for #Venus. The goal is to learn more about the planet's #geology, its possible current #activity, and its interactions with the #atmosphere.

To this end, the probe will carry several imaging #spectrometers covering wavelength ranges from UV to infrared. A first #spectrum of the optical prototype has just been obtained. The Preliminary Design Review is underway...

https://www.irap.omp.eu/en/2026/01/first-spectrum-for-the-optical-prototype-of-the-venscpec-u-instrument-for-esas-envision-mission/

La mission #EnVision de l'ESA doit décoller en 2031 à destination de #Vénus. Objectif : mieux connaître la #géologie de cette planète, son éventuelle #activité actuelle, ses interactions avec l'#atmosphère.

A cet effet, la sonde embarquera plusieurs #spectromètres imageurs couvrant les gammes de longueur d’onde s'étendant de l’UV à l’infrarouge. Un premier #spectre du prototype optique vient d'être obtenu. La Revue de Conception Préliminaire est en cours ...

https://www.irap.omp.eu/2026/01/premier-spectre-pour-le-prototype-optique-de-linstrument-venscpec-u-destine-a-la-mission-envision-de-lesa/