VIRTIS – Astronomy Now

Venus’ mysterious night side revealed

17 September 2017 Astronomy Now

Scientists have used ESA’s Venus Express to characterise the wind and upper cloud patterns on the night side of Venus for the first time-with surprising results.

Recently active lava flows from volcano Idunn Mons on Venus

19 October 2016 Astronomy Now

Planetary researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have pushed the limits of the data resolution from ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft. With this new technique, analysis of the top and eastern flank of 200-kilometre-wide volcano Idunn Mons in the southern hemisphere of Venus revealed an indication of geologically recent volcanism in this area.

Rosetta’s first peek at comet 67P’s dark side

4 October 2015 Astronomy Now

Since its arrival at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August 2014, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has been surveying the surface and the environment of this curiously shaped body. Now that the comet is experiencing a brief, hot southern hemisphere summer, its south polar regions have emerged from almost five years of total darkness and it has been possible to observe them with other Rosetta instruments.

OSIRIS detects water ice in the neck of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

16 March 2015 Astronomy Now

The Hapi region of 67P is located between the comet’s two lobes and has proven to be particularly active, displaying a bluish reflectivity spectrum in colour images captured with Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera. This strongly suggests that frozen water is mixed with the dust at the surface.

Rosetta data from ‘C-G’ give closest-ever look at a comet

22 January 2015 Astronomy Now

A special issue of journal Science published 23rd January reveals details about the shape, evolution and lifespan of comet 67P-Churyumov/Gerasimenko.