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A day in the life of ESA's Venus Express spacecraft ESA PRESS RELEASE Posted: 21 January 2013 Bright and dark cloud bands wind around the poles of Venus in this beautiful sequence tracked by ESA's Venus Express as it makes a rollercoaster orbit around the planet. Loading...
The Venusian cloud tops during nearly a full orbit of ESA's Venus Express around the planet. The inset shows the corresponding position and relative speed of Venus Express as it approaches from its furthest distance of 66 000 km above the south pole, swooping down to 250 km above the north pole. The images were captured by the Venus Monitoring Camera on 7–8 January 2012 and are shown in false colour. Credit: ESA/MPS/DLR/IDA, M. Perez-Ayucar & C. WilsonWe join the spacecraft from a staggering 66 000 km above the south pole, staring down into the swirling south polar vortex. From this bird's-eye view, half of the planet is in darkness, the 'terminator' marking the dividing line between the day and night sides of the planet. Intricate features on smaller and smaller scales are revealed as Venus Express dives to just 250 km above the north pole and clouds flood the field of view, before regaining a global perspective as it climbs away from the north pole. The movie is based on images snapped by the Venus Monitoring Camera over a period of 18 hours during one of the spacecraft's 24-hour orbits around the planet on 7–8 January last year. It was compiled using public data from the Venus Express data archive. The camera observes the planet in ultraviolet wavelengths, revealing intriguing patterns in the cloud tops, which ride around the planet about 70 km above the surface. The observed pattern of bright and dark markings is caused by variations in an unknown absorbing chemical at the Venus cloud tops. The clouds are driven by extremely strong winds, sweeping around the planet once every four days. By comparison, the planet takes 243 days to complete one rotation about its own axis. Venus Express has been orbiting the planet since 2006. It carries seven scientific instruments investigating the surface, atmosphere and ionosphere of Venus. |
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Infinity Rising This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging. U.K. STOREE.U. STOREU.S. & WORLDWIDE STOREHubble Reborn
The Planets
3D Universe
 This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.U.K. STOREE.U. STOREU.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE |
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Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts. 
From tiny Mercury to distant Neptune and Pluto, The Planets profiles each of the Solar System's members in depth, featuring the latest imagery from space missions. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the strongest winds, raging atmospheric storms, terrain studded with craters and vast worlds of ice are just some of the sights you'll see on this 100-page tour of the planets. 
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!