American apparatus Parker Solar Probe photographed Venus in July last year. The resulting image reflects the amazing features of the landscape from a distance of about 15 km. And one detail in particular worried the researchers.
A thermal imager with a wide-angle view was used for shooting (WISPR). Despite the fact that it was designed to capture images of the solar corona, the US space agency used it to collect thermal data on Venus.
«WISPR was originally developed and tested for observations in the visible range, explains physicist Angelos Vourlidas. “We waited for the images of the clouds, but the camera was able to look through them.”
You can contemplate a darkened area known as the Land of Aphrodite. It is the largest mountainous area on Venus – and one of the darkest in the images, because the temperature there is 29 degrees Celsius lower than in the surrounding area. It means that WISPR can receive thermal information as well as lighting data.
Although the photograph was a pleasant surprise for the researchers, the real purpose of the probe is to study the Sun.
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