Venus: cloud patterns revealed by violet filter			P-37218; 14 Feb 1990
			The bluish hue of Venus is an effect of the colourization technique used to enhance subtle contrasts in cloud patterns and indicates that this image was taken through a violet filter. Features in the sulfuric acid clouds near the top of the planet's atmosphere are most prominent in violet and ultraviolet light. This image shows the east to west cloud banding and the brighter polar hoods. The features are embedded in winds that flow from east to west at about 370 kph.
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Image Credit: NASA
Planetary Facts: planet name Equatorial radius (km): 6052 Mass (relative to Earth): 0.815 Density (g/cm3): 5.2 Surface gravity: 0.9 (relative to Earth) Rotation period: 243 days Axial inclination: 177.4° Distance from Sun (AU): 0.723 Orbital period: 224.7 days Orbital eccentricity: 0.007 Composition of surface: rocky Mean surface temperature: 480°C Composition of atmosphere: carbon dioxide (96%), nitrogen (3.5%), sulfur dioxide (0.015%), water vapour (0.01%), argon (0.007%) Number of satellites: 0		This colourized picture of Venus was taken on February 14th, 1990, from a distance of almost 2.75 million miles, about 6 days after Galileo's closest approach to the planet. It has been colorized to a bluish hue to emphasize subtle contrasts in the cloud markings and to indicate that it was taken through a violet filter. Features in the sulfuric acid clouds near the top of the planet's atmosphere are most prominent in violet and ultraviolet light. This image shows the east-to- west-trending clound banding and the brighter polar hoods familiar from past studies of Venus. The features are embedded in winds that flow from east to west at about 370 kph. The smallest features visible are about 73 km across. An intriguing filimentary dark pattern is seen immediately left of the bright region at the subsolar point (equatorial "noon"). North is at the top and the evening terminator is to the left.
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