APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Ultraviolet Venus
Explanation: Explanation : The forecast for Venus is cloudy, cloudy, cloudy. Although similar to the Earth in size and mass, Venus ' slightly closer orbit to the Sun create for it a much thicker atmosphere and a much hotter surface. The thick atmosphere was photographed above in ultraviolet light in 1979 by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter . Whether or not Venus has a moon was the center of a great controversy in the 1700s and 1800s. Today we know Venus has no natural satellites. Venus 's extremely uncomfortable climate was likely caused by a runaway greenhouse effect . Could Earth ever undergo runaway greenhouse heating like Venus?
| Date | May 7, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Ultraviolet Venus Credit: Pioneer Venus Orbiter Team, NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |