|
|
| The tail of Venus and the weak solar wind |
| Measurements obtained with ESA's Venus Express spacecraft have shed new light on the interaction between the solar wind and the second planet from the Sun. During a rare period of very low density solar outflow, the ionosphere of Venus was observed to become elongated downstream, rather like a long-tailed comet. |
| Date: 29 Jan 2013 |
|
|
| A new episode of active volcanism on Venus? |
| For decades, planetary scientists have debated whether Venus possesses active volcanoes. The latest twist to the tale is provided by data sent back from ESA's Venus Express orbiter, revealing unexplained major changes in the amount of sulphur dioxide gas above the planet's dense cloud layer. |
| Date: 02 Dec 2012 |
|
|
| A curious cold layer in the atmosphere of Venus |
| Venus Express has spied a surprisingly cold region high in the planet's atmosphere that may be frigid enough for carbon dioxide to freeze out as ice or snow. |
| Date: 01 Oct 2012 |
|
|
| Get ready for the transit of Venus! |
| Scientists and amateur astronomers around the world are preparing to observe the rare occurrence of Venus crossing the face of the Sun on 5-6 June, an event that will not be seen again for over a hundred years. |
| Date: 24 May 2012 |
|
|
| Venus Express unearths new clues to the planet's geological history |
| ESA's Venus Express has been used to study the geology in a region near Venus' equator. Using near-infrared observations collected by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC), scientists have found evidence that the planet's rugged highlands are scattered with geochemically more evolved rocks, rather than the basaltic rocks of the volcanic plains. This finding is in agreement with previous studies, which used data from the spacecraft's Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) to map the planet's surface in the southern hemisphere. |
| Date: 16 May 2012 |
|
|
| A magnetic surprise for Venus Express |
| Venus is a rarity among planets - a world that does not internally generate a magnetic field. Despite the absence of a large protective magnetosphere, the near-Venus environment does exhibit a number of similarities with planets such as Earth. The latest, surprising, example is the evidence for magnetic reconnection in Venus' induced magnetotail. |
| Date: 05 Apr 2012 |
|
|
| Could Venus be shifting gear? |
| ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has discovered that our cloud-covered neighbour spins a little slower than previously measured. Peering through the dense atmosphere in the infrared, the orbiter found surface features were not quite where they should be. |
| Date: 10 Feb 2012 |
|
|
| Tenuous ozone layer discovered in Venus' atmosphere |
| Using observations of Venus performed with an instrument on ESA's Venus Express scientists have detected, for the first time, a tenuous layer of ozone in this planet's atmosphere. Located at an altitude of about 100 km, the layer is up to a thousand times less dense than the one found, at a lower altitude, in the Earth's stratosphere, but both are dominated by very similar chemical reactions. The discovery poses new challenges to the characterisation of planetary atmospheres, especially in the quest for biomarkers on extrasolar planets. |
| Date: 06 Oct 2011 |
|
|
| The shape-shifting southern vortex of Venus |
| New analysis of images taken by ESA's Venus Express orbiter has revealed surprising details about the remarkable, shape-shifting collar of clouds that swirls around the planet's South Pole. This fast-moving feature is all the more surprising since its centre of rotation is typically offset from the geographical pole. The results of this study are published online in Science Express today. |
| Date: 07 Apr 2011 |
|
|
| ESA spacecraft model magnetic boundaries |
| European scientists have used observations from ESA's Cluster and Venus Express spacecraft to improve models of the interaction of Earth and Venus with the solar wind, the perpetual stream of electrically charged particles emitted by the Sun. This has implications for understanding the effects of charged particles on orbiting spacecraft. |
| Date: 07 Jan 2011 |
|
|
| Venus holds warning for Earth |
| A mysterious high-altitude layer of sulphur dioxide discovered by ESA's Venus Express has been explained. As well as telling us more about Venus, it could be sending a warning to those on Earth seeking to inject our atmosphere with sulphur droplets in an attempt to mitigate climate change. |
| Date: 30 Nov 2010 |
|
|
| Europe maintains its presence on the final frontier |
| ESA has decided to extend the productive lives of 11 of its operating space science missions. This will enable ESA's world-class science missions to continue returning pioneering results until at least 2014. |
| Date: 22 Nov 2010 |
|
|
| Venus Express probes the planet's atmosphere by flying through it |
| ESA's Venus Express is exploring the density of the Venusian upper atmosphere by measuring how much the planet's atmosphere itself slows down or twists the pointing of the spacecraft. New density measurements, centred on the Northern Pole and obtained during these atmospheric drag experiments, show an unexpected inhomogeneous pattern in the atmosphere of our neighbouring planet. These latest results from the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment are being presented, this week, at the 42nd annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society held in Pasadena, California. |
| Date: 07 Oct 2010 |
|
|
| Recreating Venus in the lab |
| Scientists are able to learn about the atmospheres and surfaces of planets by studying their spectra - the different wavelengths of light which they reflect or absorb. However, when researchers study spectra of Venus, the hottest planet in the Solar System, they run into a problem. Its high temperatures and pressures seriously affect the data. |
| Date: 30 Jul 2010 |
|
|
| Venus Express shows off new findings at major conference |
| Thanks to data from Venus Express we have the best idea yet of how Venus' atmosphere works, but there is still a long way to go, delegates at this year's International Venus Conference will be told. At the event, taking place this week (20-26 June) in Aussois, France, scientists are outlining how a better understanding of our nearest planetary neighbour can help us probe our own planet, as well as other bodies in our Solar System, and beyond. |
| Date: 22 Jun 2010 |
|
|
| New evidence for recent volcanism on Venus |
| Emissivity measurements carried out with the VIRTIS instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft indicate that Venus has been volcanically active in recent geological times. This result, reported in the 8 April issue of Science, has important consequences for the understanding of the geological processes at work on the planet. |
| Date: 08 Apr 2010 |
|
|
| Mission extensions approved for science missions |
| ESA's Science Programme Committee has approved the extension of mission operations for XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL, Venus Express, Mars Express and Cluster, as well as the ESA support to the operations of HST and SOHO, until 31 December 2012. An additional year of operations has been approved for Planck. |
| Date: 07 Oct 2009 |
|
|
| ESA extends missions studying Mars, Venus and Earth's magnetosphere |
ESA's Science Programme Committee has extended the operations of ESA's Mars Express, Venus Express and Cluster missions until 31 December 2009. The decision to extend the three successful missions was taken on 4 February this year.
|
| Date: 09 Feb 2009 |
|
|
| Venus Express unveils the cause of Venus' global cloud patterns |
| A recent study combining data collected with the VMC and the VIRTIS instruments on board Venus Express has shed light on the atmospheric conditions that give rise to the presence and distribution of the as-yet-unidentified UV absorbers. These absorbers are responsible for the characteristic dark features in the UV images of Venus' cloud deck. Dmitry Titov and colleagues, reporting in the 4 December issue of Nature, have found that it is mainly the temperature and atmospheric dynamics that drive the global pattern of the UV markings. They also determined variations of the cloud top altitude over the Venus globe. |
| Date: 03 Dec 2008 |
|
|
| Venus Express reaches lowest pericentre altitude |
| The series of orbit correction manoeuvres designed to lower the pericentre altitude of the Venus Express orbit have been successfully completed, with the spacecraft reaching the lowest pericentre altitude since the start of the mission. |
| Date: 14 Oct 2008 |
|
|
