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It has been questioned whether comet 1P/Halley that appeared on 1222 September 9 was bright enough to be observed in daylight, as recorded in the Korean account. We investigate the light curve of 1P/Halley in the 1222 apparition considering brightness enhancement of the comet by forward-scattering, in order to verify the Korean account. We first analyze the Korean accounts of 1P/Halley observed in 1222, and of Venus and Jupiter appearing in daylight generally. We then determine the absolute magnitude ( m 0 ) and heliocentric power-law exponent (n) using observations made around the perihelion in 1986 and a formula considering brightness enhancement by forward-scattering. We apply the results to estimate the light curve of 1P/Halley in the 1222 event. According to the accounts, 1P/Halley underwent a sudden change in brightness and the conditions were good on the day the daylight observation was recorded. We also find that Jupiter could have been visible in daylight at about −2.1 mag. Regarding the light curve, we find that if the m 0 and n values are similar to those in a previous study, 1P/Halley could have been reached a maximum near mag −2 in 1222. In conclusion, there is a strong possibility that 1P/Halley was actually observed in daylight, inferring from observations and the predicted total visual magnitude at that time.

Considering that Venus has a size very similar to Earth, thermal evolution of both planets should be comparable. Nonetheless, there is no clear evidence of plate tectonics or plate motions on Venus. Instead, various surface deformations attributed to volcanism, resurfacing, localized subduction and other geologic processes were recognized on the planet. In this study we attempt to classify the origin of lithospheric forces on Venus based on using topographic and gravity information. For this purpose, we also estimate the Venusian crustal thickness. In agreement with findings from previous studies, the signature of past or recent global tectonism in the body-force vector pattern on Venus is absent, while exhibiting only regional anomalies. The maximum intensity inferred in the Atla and Beta Regios is likely attributed to mantle upwelling. This is also confirmed by the gravity-topography spectral correlation and admittance analysis that shows the isostatic relaxation of these volcanic regions. The regional body-force pattern in the Bell Regio suggests that a much less pronounced force intensity there is possibly related to crustal load of lava flows. Elsewhere, the body-force intensity is relatively weak, with slightly more pronounced intensity around the Ishtar Terra and the Arthemis Chasmata. The body-force pattern in the Arthemis Chasmata supports the hypothesis that coronae structures are the result of mantle upwelling and the subsequent (localized) plume-induced subduction with only limited horizontal crustal motions. The prevailing divergent pattern of body-force vectors in the Ishtar Terra region suggests the presence of tensional forces due to the downwelling mantle flow that is responsible for a crustal thickening along the Freyja and Maxwell Montes. Except for the Atla and Beta Regios where the isostasy is relaxed by the (active) mantle plumes, the crustal thickness is spatially highly correlated with the topography, with a thin crust under the plains and a thick crust under the plateaus. The maximum Moho depth under the Maxwell Montes in the Ishtar Terra exceeds 90 km.

Tessera terrain is the oldest stratigraphic unit on Venus, but its origin and evolution are inadequately understood. Here we have performed detailed mapping of Tellus Regio, the third largest tessera plateau on Venus. Tellus Regio is shown to have distinct marginal and interior facies. The east and west margins of Tellus rise up to 2 km above the interior and include ridges and troughs ∼5–20 km across, oriented parallel to the present plains-tessera boundary. Structures characteristic of the interior of Tellus are found within the eastern and western margins and are deformed by the margin-parallel ridges indicating their presence during the time of the formation of the current margins. These relationships suggest that the margins formed by the application of external horizontal compressional stresses at the edges of an already-existing tessera interior. Structural and stratigraphic relationships in southwest Tellus show the assembly of three structurally distinct tessera regions and intervening plains that are consistent with the collision of the southwest margin into the plateau interior. This requires that tessera terrain was formed regionally and collected into the present day Tellus plateau. The latest stages of activity in Tellus include volcanism and pervasive, distributed, 1–2 km wide graben, which may have been formed due to large-scale gravitational relaxation of the plateau topography. A large intratessera plains unit may have formed via crustal delamination. The collisional oroclinal deformation of the margins are most consistent with models that invoke mantle downwelling for the origin of Tellus Regio and other tessera plateaus with similar structural relationships.

The BepiColombo (BC) Mission which will be launched in 2018, will include during its Cruise Phase two flybys of Venus and five Mercury flybys. It will then enter a one Earth year orbit about Mercury (with a possible one-year extension) during which two spacecraft, one provided by ESA (MPO) and one provided by JAXA (MMO), will perform both autonomous and coordinated observations of the Hermean environment at various separations. The measurements will take place during the minimum of solar cycle 24 and the rise of solar cycle 25. At the start of the minimum of solar cycle 23, four major flares, each associated with the production of MeV particle radiation and CME activity occurred. Predictions of the HAFv.2 model of the arrival of particle radiation and a travelling shock at Venus on 6 December 2006 were verified by in-situ measurements made aboard Venus Express (VEX) by the ASPERA 4 instrument. Interplanetary scintillation observations, as well as the ENLIL 3-D MHD model when employed separately or in combination, enable the making of predictions of the solar wind density and speed at various locations in the inner heliosphere. Both methods, which outdate HAFv.2, are utilized in the present paper to predict (retrospectively) the arrival of the flare related, interplanetary propagating shock recorded at Venus on 6 December 2006 aboard VEX with a view to putting in place the facility to make very reliable space weather predictions for BC during both its Cruise Phase and when in the Hermean environment itself. The successful matching of the December 2006 predictions with in-situ signatures recorded aboard Venus Express provide confidence that the predictive methodology to be adopted will be appropriate to provide space weather predictions for BepiColombo during its Venus flybys and throughout the mission.

We use Kaguya MI images acquired at wavelengths 415, 750, and 950 nm to map TiO2 and FeO content and the parameter of optical maturity OMAT in lunar regions Lubiniezky E and Taurus-Littrow with a spatial resolution of 20 m using the Lucey method [Lucey et al., JGR 2000, 105. 20,297]. We show that some ejecta from large craters, such as Tycho and Copernicus may cause lunar surface erosion, transportation of the eroded material and its sedimentation. The traces of the erosion resemble wind tails observed on Earth, Mars, and Venus, although the Moon has no atmosphere. The highland material of the local topographic prominences could be mobilized by Tycho's granolometrically fine ejecta and caused by its transportation along the ejecta way to adjacent mare areas and subsequent deposition. The tails of mobilized material reveal lower abundances of Ti and Fe than the surrounding mare surface. We have concluded that high-Ti streaks also seen in the Lubiniezky E site, which show unusual combinations of the TiO2 and FeO content on the correlation diagram, could be the result of erosion by Tycho's ejecta too. In these locations, Tycho's material did not form a consolidated deposit, but resulted in erosion of the mare surface material that became intermixed, consequently, diluting the ejecta. The Taurus-Littrow did provide evidence of the mechanical effect of Tycho's ejecta on the local landforms (landslide, secondary craters) and do not show the compositional signature of Tycho's ejecta probably due to intermixing with local materials and dilution.

Integrated surface heat flux data from each planet in our solar system plus over 50 stars, including our Sun, was plotted against each object's known mass to generate a continuous exponential curve at an R-squared value of 0.99. The unexpected yet undeniable implication of this study is that all planets and celestial objects have a similar mode of energy production. It is widely accepted that proton-proton reactions require hydrogen gas at temperatures of about 15 million degrees, neither of which can plausibly exist inside a terrestrial planet. Hence, this paper proposes a nuclear fission mechanism for all luminous celestial objects, and uses this mechanism to further suggest a developmental narrative for all celestial bodies, including our Sun. This narrative was deduced from an exponential curve drawn adjacent to the first and passing through the Earth's solid core (as a known prototype). This trend line was used to predict the core masses for each planet as a function of its luminosity.

The “SPICE” system 1 has been widely used since the days of the Magellan mission to Venus as the method for scientists and engineers to access a variety of space mission geometry such as positions, velocities, directions, orientations, sizes and shapes, and field-of-view projections (Acton, 1996) . While originally focused on supporting NASA’s planetary missions, the use of SPICE has slowly grown to include most worldwide planetary missions, and it has also been finding application in heliophysics and other space science disciplines. This paper peeks under the covers to see what new capabilities are being developed or planned at SPICE headquarters to better support the future of space science. The SPICE system is implemented and maintained by NASA’s Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) located at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California ( http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov ).

The study of polarized sunlight scattered from planetary atmospheres provides diagnostic tools that can help explore the possible composition and size distribution of clouds and aerosol particles. Previous studies have shown the potential of this technique in studying Water clouds on Earth and in the discovery of Sulphuric Acid clouds on Venus. The atmosphere of Mars is unique as it hosts three different types of aerosols: water (H2O) ice, carbon dioxide (CO2) ice and dust. We considered scenarios analogous to Martian conditions and calculated the single and multiple scattering polarization for Martian dust, water ice and carbon dioxide ice with the help of a Radiative Transfer algorithm for Nadir and Limb spacecraft observation positions. The polarization features (-Q/I) of Mars atmosphere have low amplitude and have been found to be within the range of ±0.1 in the Nadir/Limb geometry for the spherical, spheroidal and cylindrical shapes considered here. We study its dependence upon the observation geometry, shape, size and composition of the scatterer. Future spacecraft studies of microphysical properties of dust and clouds through polarization will reveal the nature of condensation processes active in the Martian atmosphere.

The generation of waves with low frequencies (below 100 mHz) has been observed in the environment of most bodies in the solar system and well studied at Earth. These waves can be generated either upstream of the body in the solar wind by ionization of planetary exospheres or ions reflected from a bow shock or in the magnetosheath closer to the magnetic barrier. For Mars and Venus the waves may have special importance since they can contribute to the erosion of the ionopause and by that enhance atmospheric escape. While over the past years many case studies on wave phenomena observed at Venus have been published most statistical studies have been based on magnetic observations only. On the other hand the generation mechanisms and transport of these waves through the magnetosphere can only be quantified using both magnetic and particle observations. We use the long time observations of Venus Express (2006–2014) to determine the predominant processes and transport parameters. First we demonstrate the analysis methods in four case studies, then we present a statistical analysis by determining transport ratios from the complete Venus Express dataset. We find that Alfvenic waves are very dominant (>80%) in the solar wind and in the core magnetosheath. Fast waves are observed mainly at the bow shock (around 40%) but also at the magnetic barrier where they may be most important for the energy transfer into the ionosphere. Their occurrence in the magnetotail may be an artifact of the detection of individual plasma jets in this region. Slow mode waves are rarely dominating but occur with probability of about 10% at the bow shock and in the pile-up-region. Mirror mode waves have probability

Two years of data from the M-channel of the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS), on board the European Space Agency mission Venus Express operating around the planet Venus, are analysed. Nocturnal data from a nadir viewpoint in the latitude band 25°N-55°N are selected for their configuration advantages and maximisation of the scene homogeneity. A reference model, and radiance spectrum, is defined based on average accepted values of the Venus main atmospheric and cloud parameters found in the literature. Extensive radiative transfer simulations are performed to provide a synthetic database of more than 10 000 VIRTIS radiances representing the natural variability of the system parameters (atmospheric temperature profile, cloud H2Osbnd H2SO4 solution concentration and vertical distribution, particle size distribution density and modal radius). A simulated-observed fitting algorithm of spectral radiances in window channels, based on a weighting procedure accounting for the latitudinal observed radiance variations, is used to derive the best atmosphere-cloud configuration for each observation. Results show that the reference Venus model does not adequately reproduce the observed VIRTIS spectra. In particular, the model accounting for a constant sulphuric acid concentration along the vertical extent of the clouds is never selected as a best fit. The 75%/96% and 84%/96% concentrations (the first values refer to the upper cloud layers and the second values to the lower ones) are the most commonly retrieved models representing more than 85% of the retrieved cases for any latitudinal band considered. It is shown that the assumption of stratified concentration of aqueous sulphuric acid allows to adequately fit the observed radiance, in particular the peak at 1.74 μm and around 4 μm. The analysis of the results concerning the microphysics suggests larger radii for the upper cloud layers in conjunction with a large reduction of their number density with respect to the reference standard. Considerable variation of the particle concentration in the Venus' atmosphere is retrieved for altitudes between 60 and 70 km. The retrieved models also suggest that lower cloud layers have smaller particle radii and larger number density than expected from the reference model. Latitudinal variations of microphysical and chemical parameters are also analysed.

From 2006 until 2014 the ESA Venus Express probe observed the atmosphere and surface of the Earth's twin planet. The Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) has provided data that indicate the occurrence of recent volcanic activity on Venus. We selected the eastern flank of Idunn Mons - Imdr Regio's single large volcano – as the study area, since it was identified in VIRTIS data as one of the regions with relatively high values of thermal emissivity at 1 µm wavelength. Using the capabilities of specific techniques developed in the Planetary Emissivity Laboratory group at DLR in Berlin, our study intends to identify location and extent of the sources of such anomalies, thus the lava flows responsible for the relatively high emissivity observed by VIRTIS over the eastern flank of Idunn Mons. We map the lava flow units on the top and eastern flank of Idunn Mons, varying the values of simulated 1 µm emissivity assigned to the mapped units. For each configuration we calculate the total RMS error in comparison with the VIRTIS observations. In the best-fit configuration, the flank lava flows are characterized by high values of 1 µm simulated emissivity. Hence, the lava flow units on the eastern flank on Idunn Mons are likely responsible for the relatively high 1 µm emissivity anomalies observed by VIRTIS. This result is supported by the reconstructed post-eruption stratigraphy, displaying the relative dating of the mapped lava flows, that is independent of the 1 µm emissivity modeling. Values of average microwave emissivity extracted from the lava flow units range around the global mean, which is consistent with dry basalts.

The atmospheric circulation in Venus is well known to exhibit strong super-rotation. However, the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for the formation of this super-rotation are still not fully understood. In this work, we developed a new Venus general circulation model to study the most likely mechanisms driving the atmosphere to the current observed circulation. Our model includes a new radiative transfer, convection and suitably adapted boundary layer schemes and a dynamical core that takes into account the dependence of the heat capacity at constant pressure with temperature. The new Venus model is able to simulate a super-rotation phenomenon in the cloud region quantitatively similar to the one observed. The mechanisms maintaining the strong winds in the cloud region were found in the model results to be a combination of zonal mean circulation, thermal tides and transient waves. In this process, the semi-diurnal tide excited in the upper clouds has a key contribution in transporting axial angular momentum mainly from the upper atmosphere towards the cloud region. The magnitude of the super-rotation in the cloud region is sensitive to various radiative parameters such as the amount of solar radiative energy absorbed by the surface, which controls the static stability near the surface. In this work, we also discuss the main difficulties in representing the flow below the cloud base in Venus atmospheric models. Our new radiative scheme is more suitable for 3D Venus climate models than those used in previous work due to its easy adaptability to different atmospheric conditions. This flexibility of the model was crucial to explore the uncertainties in the lower atmospheric conditions and may also be used in the future to explore, for example, dynamical-radiative-microphysical feedbacks., Accepted for publication in Planet. Space Sci

We compare dynamics of planetary ions in the induced magnetospheres of Venus and Mars in a global hybrid simulation to study factors controlling the ion escape at unmagnetized planets. In the simulation we find that the finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects of escaping heavy ions are stronger at Mars than Venus under nominal solar wind conditions. But, varying upstream conditions, especially the IMF, affects the strength of the FLR effects. We classify three basic types of planetary ion dynamics in an induced magnetosphere. First, light ions such as hydrogen follow the E×B drift, and escape in the wake in the hemisphere where the solar wind convection electric field is pointing towards the planet. Second, heavy ions like oxygen undergo FLR effects, and escape mainly outside of the wake in the hemisphere where the solar wind convection electric field is pointing away from the planet. Third, ion species between light and heavy ions can have both the E×B and FLR type dynamics in the same time.

A new Mid-Infrared Laser Heterodyne Instrument (MILAHI) with >10 6 resolving power at 7–12 μm was developed for continuous monitoring of planetary atmospheres by using dedicated ground-based telescopes for planetary science at Mt. Haleakalā, Hawaii. Room-temperature-type quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) that cover wavelength ranges of 7.69–7.73, 9.54–9.59, and 10.28–10.33 μm have been newly installed as local oscillators to allow observation of CO 2 , CH 4 , H 2 O 2 , H 2 O, and HDO. Modeling and predictions by radiative transfer code gave the following scientific capabilities and measurement sensitivities of the MILAHI. (1) Temperature profiles are achieved at altitudes of 65–90 km on Venus, and the ground surface to 30 km on Mars. (2) New wind profiles are provided at altitudes of 75–90 km on Venus, and 5–25 km on Mars. (3) Direct measurements of the mesospheric wind and temperature are obtained from the Doppler-shifted emission line at altitudes of 110 km on Venus and 75 km on Mars. (4) Detections of trace gases and isotopic ratios are performed without any ambiguity of the reproducing the terrestrial atmospheric absorptions in the observed wavelength range. A HDO measurement of twice the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW) can be obtained by 15-min integration, while H 2 O of 75 ppm is provided by 3.62-h integration. The detectability of the 100 ppb-CH 4 on Mars corresponds to an integration time of 32 h.

The Venus solar wind interaction is often regarded as the prototypical example of an induced magnetosphere. Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) observations during a period of moderate to strong solar EUV fluxes led to a fairly detailed picture in which the currents in the conducting ionosphere produce a nearly impenetrable obstacle to the incident magnetized plasma flow, resulting in a classical draped field magnetosheath region and a comet-like magnetotail. Inspired by the availability of Venus Express (VEX) observations from the north polar region, and their sometimes unexpected behavior, we reanalyzed the observed Venus wake magnetic fields in the altitude range ~150 to ~450 km to determine whether some signature of a weak planetary field could have been missed. Our results suggest the presence of a small (few nT) but persistent radial field direction bias in the deep nightside, low to mid-latitude range sampled on PVO. The bias has a hemispheric dependence, with the more positive (outward) fields in the south and the more negative (inward) fields in the north. However the VEX counterpart of these data, obtained just nightward of the north polar terminator, shows no significant bias. This observation raises several questions about our understanding of the fields at the surface of Venus. We investigate whether the PVO radial field bias could be the subtle signature of a weak global dipole with , higher by ~10× than the previously established upper limits. A weak dipole solar wind interaction model produces results in the center of the low altitude wake that compare favorably with the observed field bias seen by PVO; however, the lack of agreement with the higher latitude and VEX observations suggests other explanations need to be considered. For example, effects related to previously observed convection electric field-controlled hemispheric asymmetries provide a possible alternative, as are external fields that diffuse into and through the interior. This work points out the need for better understanding the features introduced by species-dependent plasma processes, and the role of the planet itself, in deciphering weakly magnetized planet interactions.

The stability of pyrrhotite (Fe1-xS; Fe7S8) was tested under simulated Venus conditions in two different temperature/pressure regimes and three different gas mixtures. The two regimes correlate to the average conditions in the lowlands (460 ​°C/92 ​bar) and the conditions found at the top of Maxwell Montes, 11 ​km above the planetary radius (380 ​°C/42 ​bar). The three gas mixtures consisted of 99.999% CO2, 100 ​ppm SO2 in CO2, and 100 ​ppm of COS in CO2. All experiments lasted between 24 and 96 ​h. Analysis using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) revealed that pyrrhotite was stable at all tested temperature/pressures and gases. Our results further expand on our knowledge of the chemical reactions that may take place on Venus and highlights the need for in situ measurements of the near surface geology and atmosphere.

An exciting and novel science mission concept called Seismic and Atmospheric Exploration of Venus (SAEVe) has been developed which uses high-temperature electronics to enable a three-order magnitude increase in expected surface life (120 Earth days) over what has been achieved to date. This enables study of long-term, variable phenomena such as the seismicity of Venus and near surface weather, near surface energy balance, and atmospheric chemical composition. SAEVe also serves as a critical pathfinder for more sophisticated landers in the future. For example, first order seismic measurements by SAEVe will allow future missions to deliver better seismometers and systems to support the yet unknown frequency and magnitude of Venus events. SAEVe is focused on science that can be realized with low data volume instruments and will most benefit from temporal operations. The entire mission architecture and operations maximize science while minimizing energy usage and physical size and mass. The entire SAEVe system including its protective entry system is estimated to be around 45 ​kg and approximately 0.6 ​m diameter. These features allow SAEVe to be relatively cost effective and be easily integrated onto a Venus orbiter mission. The technologies needed to implement SAEVe are currently in development by several funded activities. Component and system level work is ongoing under NASA’s Long Lived Insitu Solar System Explorer (LLISSE) project and the HOTTech program. . LLISSE, is a NASA project to develop a small Venus lander that will operate on the surface of Venus for 60 days and measure variations in meteorology, radiance, and atmospheric chemistry. LLISSE is developing a full-function engineering model of a Venus lander that contains essentially all the core capabilities of SAEVe thus greatly reducing the technology risk to SAEVe. The SAEVe long duration Venus lander promises exciting new science and is an ideal complimentary element to many future Venus orbiter missions being proposed or planned today.

With 32 ​Hz magnetic field data of Venus Express from May 2006 to August 2012, the global spatial distributions of 1-Hz waves in the near-Venusian space are presented in this paper. The occurrence rate of 1-Hz waves is maximized near the Venusian bow shock and decreases in the upstream with the distance away from the shock. Downstream of Venusian bow shock, some 1-Hz waves are swept in the magnetosheath. However, these waves cannot enter the induced magnetosphere. The distribution of 1-Hz waves shows a solar cycle variation which could be the influence of the newborn pickup ions. The wave occurrence rate is higher near the bow shock in the -E hemisphere, and the waves can propagate upstream farther in the +E hemisphere, while the occurrence rate of the downstream 1-Hz waves shows no clear hemispheric asymmetry. In addition, the 1-Hz waves in the near-Venusian space have a higher occurrence rate and a more widespread distribution in the quasi-parallel foreshock region than in the quasi-perpendicular region. It can be inferred that the 1-Hz waves in the quasi-parallel region are less affected by Landau damping and they can propagate farther in the foreshock.

Recent observations show a persistent pattern on Venus surface, interpreted as a stationary wave due to the interaction of the prevailing winds with the orography of the planet. In this work we use an idealized model of the phenomenon that allows for a fully analytical solution applied to a slow rotating planet with idealized obstacles. We use Venus as a testing case. Taking advantage of the high Rossby number of the atmospheric flow in Venus we model the velocity as potential and solve the stationary shallow-water equations on a sphere, in which a base flow is perturbed by the orography. The corresponding Green function is derived and the atmosphere thickness perturbation obtained as a convolution with the terrain height distribution. Delta-like terrain distributions give thus explicit expressions of the atmosphere height pattern, that can be translated into temperature variations to be compared with observations in the case of Venus. In particular, it is found that the height perturbation due to a localized obstacle has a longitudinal extension related to the latitudinal extension of the base flow, and quantified in terms of a latitudinal variable related to latitude in a non-linear way.

International audience; Stellar occultation is a powerful method to study vertical structure of the Venus night mesosphere. The UV channel of SPICAV spectrometer, operated in 2006–2014 on board ESA's Venus Express orbiter, allowed retrieval profiles of atmospheric gases (CO2, SO2, and O3) and aerosols. It was also able to register different UV emissions around Venus (nitric oxide airglow, Lyman-α) overlapping the absorption features at 120–300 nm. Several calibration steps convert the raw data to atmospheric transmission spectra used for the retrievals. The systematic errors of resulted gaseous concentrations mainly relate to: (i) an uncertainty of the wavelength to pixel assignment; (ii) a portion of emitting light contaminating the analyzed transmission spectra. In the present paper, we have tested a new method of the wavelength-to-pixel assignment based on the spectral features of measured stars. Secondly, using imaging capabilities of the instrument, we have demonstrated an accurate separation between different kinds of registered signal: extended UV nightglow, light from a point star, transmitted through the atmosphere, and, sometimes, solar light, scattered by Venus dusk. The efficiency of two approaches performing the separation was studied. As a result, corrected transmission spectra provided retrievals of gaseous concentrations with 20–40% higher precision respectively to those processed in previous SPICAV stellar occultation studies (Montmessin et al., 2011, Icarus 216, 82; Piccialli et al., 2015, Planet. Space Sci. 113–114, 321; Belyaev et al., 2017, Icarus 294, 58).

We identified potential atmospheric windows with which to study the Venusian surface on the nightside and calculated the approximate scattering footprint as would be seen by a prospective aerial mission. The emission from the surface, its scattering through the atmosphere, and the emission from the atmosphere were calculated from the surface to various heights beneath the cloud deck. We explored the effects of different sensor altitudes, varying surface emissivity, variation in elevation causing changes in surface temperature, and variations in the temperature profile, on the possible surface viewing atmospheric windows. The effects of surface emissivity and surface elevation dominated, and those of sensor altitude and variation in temperature profile are relatively small. The prospective windows are largely expanded versions of previously identified windows that have been exploited by satellites and ground-based observation with an additional window centered at 1.27 μm. Any mission that exploits the improved visibility beneath the cloud decks should make use of 0.7–1.0, 1.1, and 1.27 μm windows, as these provide a comprehensive ability to extract information about the surface. We explored the effect of sensor altitude and surface elevation on the scattering footprint. The scattering footprint beneath the cloud deck varies from ~15 to 5 km depending on wavelength at our nominal altitude of 40 km, a significant improvement over the 50–100 km footprint for orbiting satellites. Lowering the sensor altitude only mildly reduces the scattering footprint, as most scattering is caused by the dense lowermost atmosphere. Increased surface elevation reduces the scattering footprint. We concluded that regions elevated above the mean planetary radius represent the best targets as these have the greatest amount of the electromagnetic spectrum identified as surface viewing atmospheric windows and the smallest scattering footprint. These windows have the potential to elucidate questions about the composition and redox state of the surface of Venus, even for low emissivity materials (e.g., fine-grained hematite at e ~0.5), which have important implications for the evolution of the planet.

A study of the correlation length of ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves around Venus was developed using electron density and magnetic field data obtained from the Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-4) and magnetometer (MAG), respectively, on board of the mission Venus Express (VEX). The analysis was conducted using the whole interval of the mission (2006–2014). The correlation scales have been calculated by the correlation length parameter that is a characteristic distance over which fluctuations in a variable are correlated. We limited the study to the frequency range from 8 to 50 mHz because previous studies have shown that ULF waves produced in the foreshock have the highest power in this range. In this study the correlation length was calculated by an exponential fit employed to the auto-correlation curve. The auto-correlation function was calculated lagged by a time between 0 and 60 s and sliding a window with 120s across the data. This analysis has been also extended to correlation length determinations in spatial scale. In order to obtain the correlation length in a spatial domain, the temporal correlation length must be multiplied by the solar wind velocity. Here, the ASPERA-4/IMA (Ion Mass Analyzer) velocity data was used. It was found that the dominant correlation length in temporal scale varies from 9 to 14 s in electron density and between 7.5 and 11 s in the magnetic field. In spatial scale, correlation length varies between 2.8 × 10 3 and 5 × 10 3 km in electron density data, and between 1.7 × 10 3 - 4 X 10 3 km for the total magnetic field data value in this frequency window. Fluctuations in the magnetosheath and in the MPB may be correlated with fluctuations at the ionosphere, since correlation lengths in those regions are larger than the size of these regions, indicating that local resonant effect of wave trains at the ionopause may enhance the atmospheric ion escape at Venus. Our results also show that pickup heavy ions can interact with discontinuities in the magnetosheath of Venus and can destroy ULF wave trains during periods of low solar wind pressure. The results obtained here are compared with a similar previous analysis in the Mars environment.

Orbits around the two close collinear Sun-Earth Lagrange points have been utilized in recent decades for many solar and astronomical missions to exploit the observational advantages. DSCOVR is the first satellite to observe Earth continuously from the vicinity of the L1 point and is filing a crucial gap in Earth observations with its vast collection of polar, geosynchronous and some retrograde low inclination orbits. Spacecraft orbiting Venus in the last four decades have provided us with a wealth of information and many unanswered questions, which cannot be addressed adequately by observing from polar or near equatorial orbits around the planet. The Sun-Venus collinear Lagrange points L1 (sunward) and L2 (behind the planet from the Sun) points are key vantage points located about a million km away from the planet along the direction to the Sun which enable continuous monitoring of the planet's day and night hemispheres. As spacecraft positions at L1 and L2 points are unstable, they can be inserted in orbits around them to observe Venus over a small range of phase angles unlike any Venus orbiter observations which cover 0–180° solar phase angle twice each orbit for a very long time with minimal station keeping costs. To help better understand Venus, we propose that monitoring Venus continuously at nearly the same phase angle from the vicinity of L1 and L2 Lagrange points is critical. Such Lagrange orbiters around Sun-Venus L1 and L2 points can provide crucial information continuously about the evolution and variability of: (i) reflectance of the global cloud cover, (ii) the night side cloud cover opacity, (iii) surface activity, and (iv) interaction of planet's atmosphere with the solar wind, and loss of atmosphere. In addition, the two Lagrange orbiters can provide a crucial continuous communications capability for relaying data from in-situ atmospheric or surface platforms. Well instrumented missions to L1 and L2 points of Venus would significantly improve our understanding Earth's perplexing neighbor by obtaining continuous record of data on the day and night hemispheres not available from Venus orbiting missions.

Planetary gravity fields are measured by various means. The accuracy of the recovered gravitational potential model depends, of course, on the number and accuracy of the measurements, and in non-trivial ways upon the measurement configuration and orbit geometry. We derive and present simple analytic expressions which yield estimates of the resulting error spectra, with reasonable accuracy. Actual recovery of gravity models from the relevant data requires much more rigorous analysis, but these models are expected to be helpful in early mission planning activities. We present results of an application to Vesta, used as a validation exercise, and show possible future results for Mars and Venus.

We explore the quantitative limits that may be placed on Venus' present-day volcanic activity by radar imaging of surface landforms. The apparent nondetection of new lava flows in the areas observed twice by Magellan suggests that there is a ~60% chance that the eruption rate is ~1 km 3 /yr or less, using the eruption history and area/volume flow geometry of terrestrial volcanoes (Etna, Mauna Loa and Merapi) as a guide. However, if the detection probability of an individual flow is low (e.g. ~10%) due to poor resolution or quality and unmodeled viewing geometry effects, the constraint ( 3 /yr) is not useful. Imaging at Magellan resolution or better of only ~10% of the surface area of Venus on a new mission (30 years after Magellan) would yield better than 99% chance of detecting a new lava flow, even if the volcanic activity is at the low end of predictions (~0.01 km 3 /yr) and is expressed through a single volcano with a stochastic eruption history. Closer re-examination of Magellan data may be worthwhile, both to search for new features, and to establish formal (location-dependent) limits on activity against which data from future missions can be tested. While Magellan-future and future–future comparisons should offer much lower detection thresholds for erupted volumes, a probabilistic approach will be required to properly understand the implications.

The influence of solar zenith angle (SZA) and solar irradiance has been well characterized for the V2 layer in the Venus ionosphere, but not the V1 layer, where previous efforts were limited by data scarcity and incomplete SZA coverage. Here we use more than 200 radio occultation profiles from Venus Express with good SZA coverage to characterize how the V1 peak altitude, peak density, and morphology respond to changes in SZA and solar activity. The V1 and V2 peak altitudes vary little with SZA, and both peak electron densities vary with SZA in an approximately Chapman-like manner. These results imply that the thermal structures of the atmosphere and ionosphere between ∼125 km and ∼140 km vary little with SZA. As solar activity increases, the ratio of the V1 to V2 peak density increases, and the V1 morphology changes more than the V2 morphology. These results are due to the soft X-ray flux increasing relative to the EUV flux as solar activity increases. We compare the behavior of the V1 layer to the analogous M1 layer at Mars, and find that their peak altitudes respond differently to changes in SZA and solar activity. The V1 peak density also increases more with solar activity than the M1 peak density. These distinct behaviors arise from differences in their underlying neutral atmospheres.

Without the shielding of a substantial intrinsic dipole magnetic field, the atmospheres of Mars and Venus are particularly susceptible to similar atmospheric ion energization and scavenging processes. However, each planet has different attributes and external conditions controlling its high altitude planetary ion spatial and energy distributions. This paper describes analogous test particle simulations in background MHD fields that allow us to compare the properties and fates, precipitation or escape, of the mainly O+ atmospheric pick-up ions at Mars and Venus. The goal is to illustrate how atmospheric and planetary scales affect the upper atmospheres and space environments of our terrestrial planet neighbors. The results show the expected convection electric field-related hemispheric asymmetries in both precipitation and escape, where the degree of asymmetry at each planet is determined by the planetary scale and local interplanetary field strength. At Venus, the kinetic treatment of O+ reveals a strong nightside source of precipitation while Mars' crustal fields complicate the simple asymmetry in ion precipitation and drive a dayside source of precipitation. The pickup O+ escape pattern at both Venus and Mars exhibits low energy tailward escape, but Mars exhibits a prominent, high energy ‘polar plume’ feature in the hemisphere of the upward convection electric field while the Venus ion wake shows only a modest poleward concentration. The overall escape is larger at Venus than Mars ( 2.1 × 10 25 and 4.3 × 10 24 at solar maximum, respectively), but the efficiency (likelihood) of O+ escaping is 2–3 times higher at Mars. The consequences of these comparisons for pickup ion related atmospheric energy deposition, loss rates, and detection on spacecraft including PVO, VEX, MEX and MAVEN are considered. In particular, both O+ precipitation and escape show electric field controlled asymmetries that grow with energy, while the O+ fluxes and energy spectra at selected spatial locations show characteristic signatures of the pickup related acceleration and precipitation.

During more than 6 years of the Venus Express (VEx) mission, the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) took around 300 000 images in four channels covering almost all the latitudes, including night and day sides. Here we give an overview of the VMC data and summarize results of retrievals of the optical properties of the Venus upper clouds. The in-flight characterization and calibration of VMC are also described. We model the phase dependence of brightness (phase range α = 0 – 140 ° ) retrieved from the dayside images obtained in NIR1 VMC channel at various latitudes (30°N–60°S) and local solar times (6–18 h). The radiative transfer calculations were performed for the plane-parallel atmospheric layers, and the Mie theory was used for the calculations of the single scattering phase functions of the cloud aerosols. The size distribution of cloud particles and their refractive index were estimated for each of the regions observed. These retrievals show some temporal and spatial variations. In general, the particles at low latitudes are somewhat larger than in the regions closer to the southern pole ( R eff = 1.2 – 1.4 μ m versus 0.9 – 1.05 μ m ). At latitudes 40°S–60°S the refractive index is usually smaller than in the other regions ( m r = 1.44 – 1.45 versus 1.45–1.47 with sporadic spikes of up to 1.49). The retrievals robustly show presence of particles with a radius of about R eff = 0.9 μ m in the clouds and/or the haze above them in these mid-latitudes. Small submicron ( R eff = 0.23 μ m ) particles are detected mostly in the morning.

The presence of photoelectrons in ionospheres, including that of unmagnetised Venus, can be inferred from their characteristic spectral peaks in the electron energy spectrum. The electrons within the peaks are created by the photoionisation of neutrals in the upper atmosphere by the solar HeII 30.4nm line. Here, we present some case studies of photoelectron spectra observed by the ASPERA-4 instrument aboard Venus Express with corresponding ion data. In the first case study, we observe photoelectron peaks in the sunlit ionosphere, indicating relatively local production. In the second case study, we observe broadened peaks in the sunlit ionosphere near the terminator, which indicate scattering processes between a more remote production region and the observation point. In the third case study, we present the first observation of ionospheric photoelectrons in the induced magnetotail of Venus, which we suggest is due to the spacecraft being located at that time on a magnetic field line connected to the dayside ionosphere at lower altitudes. Simultaneously, low energy ions are observed moving away from Venus. In common with observations at Mars and at Titan, these imply a possible role for the relatively energetic electrons in producing an ambipolar electric field which enhances ion escape.

The oxygen isotope ratios 17O/16O and 18O/16O in Venus׳s atmosphere were measured simultaneously by ground-based IR spectroscopy. The CO2 absorption lines in the 2648 cm−1 (for 17O/18O) and 4582 cm−1 (for 18O/16O) regions were observed using the IRTF/CSHELL spectrometer. The deviations of the isotope fractions are found to be δ17O=+92±158‰ and δ18O=−42±85‰ as compared to the terrestrial standard (HITRAN 2012) where the uncertainties include both random and systematic errors. Such combination agrees with the Earth–Moon fractionation line within the errors. This is consistent to the fact that the proto-Venus matter was also well mixed with the proto-Earth–Moon matter.

International audience; The SOIR instrument on board Venus Express regularly sounds the Venus atmosphere using the solar occultation technique. The density and temperature profiles are inferred from SOIR spectra recorded in the infrared. The method has been described in a previous publication (Mahieux et al., 2012. J. Geophys. Res. 117. doi:10.1029/2012JE004058.). This paper is devoted to the update of the VAST (Venus Atmosphere from SOIR measurements at the Terminator) compilation that was initiated in the above cited work, which gives the mean CO2 number density and temperature profiles for different latitude bins. The method has been improved and has been applied to more data. The new compilation which is given on the same latitudinal grid now distinguishes between the two sides of the terminator. The compilation also confirms the main thermal layering characteristics that were identified in the earlier version: the succession of a warm layer (230±30 K, 1−σ standard deviation) at a pressure level of 3.2×10−7 mbar (~140 km), a very cold layer (125±32 K) at 2.5×10−5 mbar (~123 km), a warm layer (204±17 K) at 0.01 mbar (~102 km) and finally a colder layer at 0.4 mbar (171±34 K, ~87 km). The layering of all the temperature profiles is explained by radiative rather than dynamical processes. The temporal temperature variation is larger than the mean latitudinal temperature variation. VAST is compared with temperature profiles obtained from other Venus Express instruments, VeRa and SPICAV–UV, and ground based measurements.

Accepted: 2014-12-04, 資料番号: SA1150126000

With the Venus Monitoring Camera onboard the Venus Express orbiter, for the first time full glory on the upper cloud layer of Venus has been imaged. Images were acquired in three wavelengths of 0.365, 0.513, and 0.965 μm. Glory is an optical phenomenon that poses stringent constraints on the cloud properties. The fact of the observed glory itself requires that the scattering medium at a level where the radiance comes from is rather homogeneous, its particles are spherical and their size distribution is narrow. From the angular position of the glory features in specified wavelengths, one may infer the size of scattering particles, which yields the estimate of their effective radius R eff from 1.0 to 1.4 μm for different regions of the cloud deck. This corresponds to the so-called 1-μm mode of the cloud particles of Venus, which, as is known from the previous investigations, are droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid. However, in some cases, the details of the glory feature cannot be explained by scattering at purely sulfuric acid droplets and require presence of an additional component with a higher value of the real part of the refractive index. We suppose that this material can be ferric chloride or sulfur; both are also candidates for the so-called unknown ultraviolet absorber in the upper cloud layer of Venus. We suggest that this component is in the submicron particles that, under proper conditions, participate in the condensation of sulfuric acid droplets in the clouds and form the complex UV absorbing particles with an increased real refractive index. For a number of UV dark and bright regions observed at small phase angles, it is shown that UV contrasts are caused by variations in the portion of absorbing particles of the submicron mode in the clouds. From changing of the angular position of the glory maximum in the UV phase profiles, we infer a decrease of the sizes of sulfuric acid droplets ( R eff changes from 1.05 to 0.8–0.9 μm) with increasing latitude (from 40 °S to 60 °S) before the local noon. The increase in the amount of 0.9-μm particles may also cause the UV-bright feature often observed at about 50 °S.

We investigate the conditions that will promote explosive volcanic activity on Venus. Conduit processes were simulated using a steady-state, isothermal, homogeneous flow model in tandem with a degassing model. The response of exit pressure, exit velocity, and degree of volatile exsolution was explored over a range of volatile concentrations (H2O and CO2), magma temperatures, vent altitudes, and conduit geometries relevant to the Venusian environment. We find that the addition of CO2 to an H2O-driven eruption increases the final pressure, velocity, and volume fraction gas. Increasing vent elevation leads to a greater degree of magma fragmentation, due to the decrease in the final pressure at the vent, resulting in a greater likelihood of explosive activity. Increasing the magmatic temperature generates higher final pressures, greater velocities, and lower final volume fraction gas values with a correspondingly lower chance of explosive volcanism. Cross-sectionally smaller, and/or deeper, conduits were more conducive to explosive activity. Model runs show that for an explosive eruption to occur at Scathach Fluctus, at Venus’ mean planetary radius (MPR), 4.5% H2O or 3% H2O with 3% CO2 (from a 25 m radius conduit) would be required to initiate fragmentation; at Ma’at Mons (~9 km above MPR) only ~2% H2O is required. A buoyant plume model was used to investigate plume behaviour. It was found that it was not possible to achieve a buoyant column from a 25 m radius conduit at Scathach Fluctus, but a buoyant column reaching up to ~20 km above the vent could be generated at Ma’at Mons with an H2O concentration of 4.7% (at 1300 K) or a mixed volatile concentration of 3% H2O with 3% CO2 (at 1200 K). We also estimate the flux of volcanic gases to the lower atmosphere of Venus, should explosive volcanism occur. Model results suggest explosive activity at Scathach Fluctus would result in an H2O flux of ~107 kg s-1. Were Scathach Fluctus emplaced in a single event, our model suggests that it may have been emplaced in a period of ~15 days, supplying 1-2 x 104 Mt H2O to the atmosphere locally. An eruption of this scale might increase local atmospheric H2O abundance by several ppm over an area large enough to be detectable by near-infrared nightside sounding using the 1.18 µm spectral window such as that carried out by the Venus Express/VIRTIS spectrometer. Further interrogation of the VIRTIS dataset is recommended to search for ongoing volcanism on Venus.

The Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) acquired a set of ultraviolet (UV) images during the Venus Express mission unprecedented in its duration from May 2006 to September 2013. Here we present the results of digital tracking of the cloud features in the upper cloud layer at latitudes 25–75°S using images from 257 orbits with the best spatial coverage. The method relies on analysis of correlations between pairs of UV images separated in time. The bulk of data processed allows us to clarify the reasons why the mid-latitude jet is not always present in latitudinal wind profiles. Comparing VMC images with wind velocity fields we found a relationship between cloud morphology at middle latitudes and the circulation. The vector field in middle latitudes depends on the presence of a contrast global streak in the cloud morphology tilted with respect to latitude circles. The angle of the flow deflection (the angle between the wind velocity and latitudinal circles) and the difference of the zonal velocity on the opposite sides of the streak are in direct relationship to the angle between the streak and latitude circles. During such orbits the jet bulge does not appear in the latitudinal profile of the zonal wind component. Otherwise a zonal flow with small changes of the meridional velocity dominates in middle latitudes and manifests itself as a jet bulge. The relationship between the cloud cover morphology and circulation peculiarities can be attributed to the motion of global cloud features, like the Y-feature. We prepared plots of zonal and meridional velocities averaged with respect to the entire observation period. The average zonal velocity has a diurnal maximum at 15:00 local solar time and at 40°S. The meridional velocity reaches its maximum between 13:00 and 16:00 and at 50°S. The velocities obtained by the digital method are in good agreement with results of the visual method in the middle latitudes published earlier by Khatuntsev et al. (2013) .

Observations by many spacecraft that have visited Venus over the last 40 years appear to confirm the presence of lightning storms in the Venus atmosphere. Recent observations by Venus Express indicate that lightning frequency and power is similar to that on Earth. While storms are occurring, energy deposition by lightning into Venus atmospheric constituents will immediately dissociate molecules into atoms, ions and plasma from the high temperatures in the lightning column (>30,000 K) and the associated shock waves and heating, after which these atom and ion fragments of C,O,S,N,H-containing molecules will recombine during cooldown to form new sets of molecules. Spark and discharge experiments in the literature suggest that lightning effects on the main atmospheric molecules CO2, N2, SO2, H2SO4 and H2O will yield carbon oxides and suboxides (COm, CnOm), sulfur oxides (SnO, SnOm), oxygen (O2), elemental sulfur (Sn), nitrogen oxides (NO, N2O, NO2), sulfuric acid clusters (HnSmOx−.aHnSmOx e.g. HSO4−.mH2SO4), polysulfur oxides, carbon soot and other exotic species. While the amounts generated in lightning storms would be much less than that derived from photochemistry, during storms these species can build up in a small area and so their local concentrations may increase significantly. For a storm of 100×100 km, the increase could be ~5 orders of magnitude if they remain in the storm region for a period before becoming well-mixed. Some of these molecular species may be detectable by instruments onboard Venus Express while they are concentrated in the storm regions. We explore the diversity of new products likely created in lightning storms on Venus.

High-resolution ( R ~ 43 , 000 ) spectroscopic observations of both day and night sides of Venus were acquired using CSHELL at IRTF between 2202 and 2207 cm − 1 (4.53– 4.54 μ m ) during the latest maximal eastern and western elongations of Venus in two four-nights observing runs in August 2012 and November 2013. Their purpose was to investigate the effect of the recent (from 2007 onwards) decrease of sulfur dioxide (SO2) at the cloud top level on the spatial distribution of carbon monoxide (CO), since both species are involved in the mesospheric photochemical cycles. Observations of neighboring CO2 lines are fully consistent with the previously determined aerosol scale height in the 68–74 km range. We could therefore determine CO mixing ratio on both day and night sides of Venus, taking into account both scattered solar and thermal components, as well as the overlying CO dayglow on the day side. CO spatial distribution is mostly unchanged compared to previous measurements, ranging from 25 ppmv to 45 ppmv at 70 km. The scattered solar component reveals an increase in CO with increasing altitude with a scale height of ( 5 ± 0.5 ) km between 70 and 76 km. Horizontal variability is found to be weak, with a possible increase towards higher latitudes on the day side of about 10 ppmv. Yet the accuracy of our absolute values of CO mixing ratio is limited by several assumptions, and we cannot rule out that some of the variability we measure for CO could alternatively be explained by other changes occurring in the Venusian atmosphere, e.g. changes in both dT/dz and aerosol scale height.

Observations from Pioneer Venus and from SPICAV/SOIR aboard Venus Express (VEx) have shown the upper haze (UH) of Venus to be highly spatially and temporally variable, and populated by multiple particle size modes. Previous models of this system (e.g., Gao et al., 2014. Icarus 231, 83–98), using a typical temperature profile representative of the atmosphere (viz., equatorial VIRA profile), did not investigate the effect of temperature on the UH particle distributions. We show that the inclusion of latitude-dependent temperature profiles for both the morning and evening terminators of Venus helps to explain how the atmospheric aerosol distributions vary spatially. In this work we use temperature profiles obtained by two instruments onboard VEx, VeRa and SPICAV/SOIR, to represent the latitudinal temperature dependence. We find that there are no significant differences between results for the morning and evening terminators at any latitude and that the cloud base moves downwards as the latitude increases due to decreasing temperatures. The UH is not affected much by varying the temperature profiles; however, the haze does show some periodic differences, and is slightly thicker at the poles than at the equator. We also find that the sulphuric acid “rain” seen in previous models may be restricted to the equatorial regions of Venus, such that the particle size distribution is relatively stable at higher latitudes and at the poles.

International audience; The thermal structure of Venus upper atmosphere (90–140 km) was investigated using stellar occultation measurements acquired by the SPICAV experiment on board Venus Express. The SPICAV ultraviolet channel provides CO2 local density and temperature vertical profiles with a vertical resolution of View the MathML source of both the southern and the northern hemispheres on the nightside (18:00-06:00 hr local time). A permanent layer of warm air is observed at the mesopause in the altitude range 90–100 km. Temperature then decreases with increasing altitude reaching a minimum value around 125 km. Spatial and temporal changes in the thermal structure have been analyzed. Local time variations dominate the structure of Venus atmosphere at these altitudes: temperatures show an increase of View the MathML source on the morning side compared to the evening side. The homopause altitude was also determined; it varies between 119 and 138 km of altitude, increasing from the evening side to the morning side. SPICAV temperature profiles were compared to several literature results from ground-based observations, previous spacecraft missions and the Venus Express mission.

Ground-based heterodyne spectroscopy is used to observe the night side of Venus by probing single pressure broadened CO2 absorption lines. From the pressure induced line broadening, the predominant temperature at different altitude layers can be deduced. It is found, that heterodyne spectroscopy is sensitive to probe the mesosphere between ~ 60 km and 90 km with an altitude resolution of ~ 4.5 km . During two observing campaigns in March and May 2012, four different locations on the planet were investigated. Herein, we report on the retrieval of vertical temperature profiles in the nightside atmosphere of Venus. Retrieval of atmospheric parameters is based on a Levenberg–Marquard χ2 optimization that iteratively compares observed data to telluric transmittance corrected Venus׳ top-of-atmosphere spectra calculated using a radiative transfer algorithm. The deduced profiles are compared to the Venus International Reference Atmosphere and some found to be in satisfactory agreement. Sub-Doppler resolution Infrared heterodyne observations can provide temperature measurements that complement existing sub-mm and space based observations.

Millimeter and submillimeter heterodyne spectroscopy offers the possibility of probing the mesosphere of Venus and monitoring minor species and winds. ALMA presents a unique opportunity to map mesospheric species of Venus. During Cycle 0, we have observed Venus on November 14 and 15, 2011, using the compact configuration of ALMA. The diameter of Venus was 11″ and the illumination factor was about 90%. Maps of CO, SO, SO 2 and HDO have been built from transitions recorded in the 335–347 GHz frequency range. A mean mesospheric thermal profile has been inferred from the analysis of the CO transition at the disk center, to be used in support of minor species retrieval. Maps of SO and SO 2 abundance show significant local variations over the disk and contrast variations by as much as a factor 4. In the case of SO 2 , the spatial distribution appears more “patchy”, i.e. shows short-scale structures apparently disconnected from day-side and latitudinal variations. For both molecules, significant changes occur over a timescale of one day. From the disk averaged spectrum of SO recorded on November 14 at 346.528 GHz, we find that the best fit is obtained with a cutoff in the SO vertical distribution at 88±2 km and a uniform mixing ratio of 8.0±2.0 ppb above this level. The SO 2 map of November 14, derived from the weaker transition at 346.652 GHz, shows a clear maximum in the morning side at low latitudes, which is less visible in the map of November 15. We find that the best fit for SO 2 is obtained for a cutoff in the vertical distribution at 88±3 km and a uniform mixing ratio of 12.0±3.5 ppb above this level. The HDO maps retrieved from the 335.395 GHz show some enhancement in the northern hemisphere, but less contrasted variations than for the sulfur species maps, with little change between November 14 and 15. Assuming a typical D/H ratio of 200 times the terrestrial value in the mesosphere of Venus, we find that the disk averaged HDO spectrum is best fitted with a uniform H 2 O mixing ratio of 2.5±0.6 ppm (corresponding to a HDO mixing ratio of 0.165±0.040 ppm). We note that our spectrum is also compatible with a H 2 O mixing ratio of 1.5 ppm in the 80–90 km altitude range, and a mixing ratio of 3 ppm outside this range, as suggested by the photochemical model of Zhang et al. (2012, Icarus , vol. 217, pp. 714–739). Our results are in good general agreement with previous single dish submillimeter observations of Sandor and Clancy (2005, Icarus , vol. 177, pp. 129–143), Gurwell et al. (2007, Icarus , vol. 188, p. 288), and Sandor et al. (2010, Icarus , vol. 208, pp. 49–60; 2012, Icarus, vol. 217, pp. 839–844 ) and with SPICAV/Venus Express results of Fedorova et al. (2008, J. Geophys. Res. , vol. 113, p. E00B25) and Belyaev et al. (2012).

International audience; SOIR is a powerful infrared spectrometer flying on board the Venus Express spacecraft since mid-2006. It sounds the Venus atmosphere above the cloud layer using the solar occultation technique. In the recorded spectra, absorption structures from many species are observed, among them carbon dioxide, the main constituent of the Venus atmosphere. Previously, temperature vertical profiles were derived from the carbon dioxide density retrieved from the SOIR spectra by assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. These profiles show a permanent cold layer at 125 km with temperatures of ~100 K, surrounded by two warmer layers at 90 and 140 km, reaching temperatures of ~200 K and 250–300 K respectively. In this work, temperature profiles are derived from the SOIR spectra using another technique based on the ro-vibrational structure of carbon dioxide observed in the spectra. The error budget is extensively investigated. Temperature profiles obtained by both techniques are comparable within their respective uncertainties and they confirm the vertical structure previously determined from SOIR spectra.

Venus Express SOIR terminator profiles of CO2 densities and corresponding temperatures have been determined for 132 selected orbits obtained between 2006 and 2013. These recently recalibrated measurements provide temperature profiles at the Venusian terminator over approximately 70–160 km, revealing a striking permanent temperature minimum (at about 125 km) and a weaker temperature maximum (over 100–110 km). In addition, topside temperatures (above 140 km) reveal a warming trend consistent with a typical thermospheric structure. These features are reflected in the corresponding CO2 density profiles, and provide detailed constraints for global circulation models of the upper atmosphere. New Venus Thermospheric General Circulation Model (VTGCM) simulations are presented for conditions appropriate to these SOIR measurements. In particular, solar minimum to moderate fluxes are specified and mean values of eddy diffusion and wave drag parameters are utilized. Recent upgrades to the VTGCM code now include more realistic lower boundary conditions at ~ 70 km near cloud tops. Model temperature profiles are extracted from the terminators that correspond to five latitude bins presently used in the SOIR data analysis. Averaging of VTGCM temperature profiles in each of these bins (at each terminator) is conducted to match SOIR sampling. Comparisons of these SOIR and VTGCM temperature profiles are shown. Most notably, the observed temperature minimum near 125 km and the weaker temperature maximum over 100–110 km are generally reproduced by the VTGCM at the correct pressure/altitude levels. However, magnitudes of simulated and measured temperatures are somewhat different as a function of latitude. In addition, VTGCM evening terminator (ET) temperatures are simulated to be modestly warmer than corresponding morning terminator (MT) values, a result of stronger ET than MT zonal winds at/above about 130 km. The SOIR terminator temperatures thus far do not reveal this consistent trend, suggesting the VTGCM climate based winds may not precisely represent the averaged conditions during SOIR sampling. Overall, these data-model comparisons reveal that both radiative and dynamical processes are responsible for maintaining averaged temperatures and driving significant variations in terminator temperature profiles.

We study the precipitation of protons and alpha-particles onto the upper atmosphere of Venus, using particle data recorded by the Venus Express spacecraft inside the induced magnetosphere. Our investigations are limited to the dayside close to the terminator. We observe on average a net downward flux of protons, which originate partly from the planetary atmosphere and partly from the solar wind. We present median energy spectra of the precipitating protons divided into two energy ranges, 10–100 eV and 100 eV–30 keV. The total dayside precipitation of solar wind protons is estimated to be 3×1022 s−1, assuming only protons with energies above 500 eV will reach the exobase. Downgoing protons are frequently observed but only in 3% of the available data records we see He 2 + . These observations are made close to the induced magnetosphere boundary and we argue that at lower altitude the countrates for alpha-particles fall below detection limits. We estimate the precipitation of He 2 + onto the dayside exobase to be 1×1021 s−1, which is not enough enough to replace the helium escaping from the planet.

Venus׳ surface emissivity data in the infrared can serve to explore the planet׳s geology. The only global data with high spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution and coverage at present is supplied by nightside emission measurements acquired by the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer VIRTIS-M-IR ( 1.0 – 5.1 μ m ) aboard ESA׳s Venus Express. A radiative transfer simulation and a retrieval algorithm can be used to determine surface emissivity in the nightside spectral transparency windows located at 1.02, 1.10, and 1.18 μ m . To obtain satisfactory fits to measured spectra, the retrieval pipeline also determines auxiliary parameters describing cloud properties from a certain spectral range. But spectral information content is limited, and emissivity is difficult to retrieve due to strong interferences from other parameters. Based on a selection of representative synthetic VIRTIS-M-IR spectra in the range 1.0 – 2.3 μ m , this paper investigates emissivity retrieval errors that can be caused by interferences of atmospheric and surface parameters, by measurement noise, and by a priori data, and which retrieval pipeline leads to minimal errors. Retrieval of emissivity from a single spectrum is shown to fail due to extremely large errors, although the fits to the reference spectra are very good. Neglecting geologic activity, it is suggested to apply a multi-spectrum retrieval technique to retrieve emissivity relative to an initial value as a parameter that is common to several measured spectra that cover the same surface bin. Retrieved emissivity maps of targets with limited extension (a few thousand km) are then additively renormalized to remove spatially large scale deviations from the true emissivity map that are due to spatially slowly varying interfering parameters. Corresponding multi-spectrum retrieval errors are estimated by a statistical scaling of the single-spectrum retrieval errors and are listed for 25 measurement repetitions. For the best of the studied retrieval pipelines, temporally varying interfering atmospheric parameters (cloud parameters, minor gas abundances) contribute errors in the order of 3%–10% of the true emissivity, depending on the surface window, the reference spectrum, and assuming statistical independence of the parameters. Temporally constant interfering parameters that spatially vary on a scale of 100 km (surface elevation, interfering emissivities) add 9%–16%. Measurement noise with a standard deviation of 10 − 4 W / ( m 2 sr μ m ) leads to additional 1%–4%. Reasonable modifications of a priori mean values have negligible impacts. Retrieved maps are most reliable at 1.02 μ m . There is an overall tendency for better results for cases with small cloud opacity, high surface elevation, high emissivity, and small observation angle, but this depends on the emissivity window, retrieval pipeline, and measurement repetition number. Calibration, preprocessing, and simulation errors can lead to additional errors. Based on the presented results, a subsequent paper will discuss emissivity data retrieval for a selected surface target.

The dayside of the Venus ionosphere at the top of the planet׳s thick atmosphere is sustained by photoionization. The consequent photoelectrons may be identified by specific peaks in the energy spectrum at 20–30eV which are mainly due to atomic oxygen photoionization. The ASPERA-4 electron spectrometer has an energy resolution designed to identify the photoelectron production features. Photoelectrons are seen not only in their production region, the sunlit ionosphere, but also at more distant locations on the nightside of the Venus environment. Here, we present a summary of the work to date on observations of photoelectrons at Venus, and their comparison with similar processes at Titan and Mars. We expand further by presenting new examples of the distant photoelectrons measured at Venus in the dark tail and further away from Venus than seen before. The photoelectron and simultaneous ion data are then used to determine the ion escape rate from Venus for one of these intervals. We compare the observed escape rates with other rates measured at Venus, and at other planets, moons and comets. We find that the escape rates are grouped by object type when plotted against body radius.

The Venus Express mission has provided a long-term monitoring of Venus atmosphere including the morphology and motions of its upper clouds. Several works have focused on the dynamics of the upper cloud visible on the day-side in ultraviolet images sensitive to the 65–70 km altitude and in the lower cloud level (50 km height) observable in the night-side of the planet in the 1.74 μm spectral window. Here we use VIRTIS-M spectral images in nearby wavelengths to study the upper cloud layer in three channels: ultraviolet (360–400 nm), visible (570–680 nm) and near infrared (900–955 nm) extending in time the previous analysis of VIRTIS-M data. The ultraviolet images show relatively well contrasted cloud features at the cloud top. Cloud features in the visible and near infrared images lie a few kilometers below the upper cloud top, have very low contrast and are distinct to the features observed in the ultraviolet. Wind measurements were obtained on 118 orbits covering the Southern hemisphere over a six-year period and using a semi-automatic cloud correlation algorithm. Results for the upper cloud from VIRTIS-M ultraviolet data confirm previous analysis based on images obtained by the Venus Monitoring Camera ( Khatuntsev et al. (2013) ). At the cloud top the mean zonal and meridional winds vary with local time accelerating towards the local afternoon. The upper branch of the Hadley cell circulation reaches maximum velocities at 45° latitude and local times of 14–16 h. The mean zonal winds in the ultraviolet cloud layer accelerated in the course of the 2006–2012 period at least 15 m s −1 . The near infrared and visible images show a more constant circulation without significant time variability or longitudinal variations. The meridional circulation is absent or slightly reversed in near infrared and visible images indicating that, either the Hadley-cell circulation in Venus atmosphere is shallow, or the returning branch of the meridional circulation extends to levels below the cloud level sensed in near infrared images. At subpolar to polar latitudes the three wavelength ranges show similar features and motions which is a signature of small vertical wind shear and may be affected by vertical convergence of both layers. At the clod top level observed in UV images there are signatures of a long-term acceleration of the zonal winds at afternoon hours when comparing zonal winds from the first years of Venus Express observations (2006–2008) to later dates (2009–2012) with a mean acceleration of zonal winds of 17±6 m s −1 between both time periods.

We draw attention to, and present a summary archive of the data from, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter Gamma-ray Burst Detector (OGBD), an instrument not originally conceived with Venus science in mind. We consider the possibility of gamma-ray flashes generated by lightning and model the propagation of gamma rays in the Venusian atmosphere, finding that if gamma rays originate at the upper range of reported cloud top altitudes (75 km altitude), they may be attenuated by factors of only a few, whereas from 60 km altitude they are attenuated by over two orders of magnitude. The present archive is too heavily averaged to reliably detect such a source (and we appeal to investigators who may have retained a higher-resolution archive), but the data do provide a useful and unique record of the cosmic ray flux at Venus 1978–1993. We consider other applications of future orbital gamma ray data, such as atmospheric occultations and the detection of volcanic materials injected high in the atmosphere.

Several factors control the bow shock position at Venus, including short-term period responses (solar wind dynamic pressure) and long-term period variations (solar activity). Based on Venus Express (VEX) observations, we revisit the influence of solar activity on the Venusian bow shock location, by accurately determining not only the shock terminator distance but also the subsolar point with a three-parameter fit (TPF) method. At the same time, VEX covers a larger range of solar zenith angles (SZA) at the Venusian bow shock (from about 10 to 135 degrees) than the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) spacecraft. Fitting results display that the Venusian bow shock is farther away from Venus at solar maximum than at solar minimum. The subsolar stand-off distance increases from 1.364 planetary radii at solar minimum to 1.459RV at solar maximum, while the terminator shock distance changes from 2.087RV to 2.146RV. Inspection of the bow shock and the induced magnetosphere boundary (IMB) locations clearly shows a positive correlation for every orbit, while the average bow shock location is not responsive to changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure.