The Parker Solar Probe, designed for a detailed study of the sun, has another advantage: it is able to study planets as they move through their orbits. As it refines its orbit around our sun, Parker Venus will pass a total of seven times over its seven-year mission. The Parker probe uses the gravity of planets to bend its path through the Solar System.
Recorded on July 11, 2020, a captivating new image of Venus was taken during the third of Parker’s seven planned encounters with the Sun. This photo was taken by the Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) at a distance of 12,380 kilometers (7,693 miles) from the night side of the planet.
Like a WISPR in the Wind
The WISPR camera is designed to represent the inner heliosphere of the sun (which protrudes far into space) in visible light, as well as to study the solar wind.
“WISPR uses two cameras with radiation-hardened CMOS detectors for active pixel sensor. These detectors are used in place of traditional CCDs because they are lighter and use less power. They are also less susceptible to the effects of radiation damage by cosmic rays and other high-energy particles, which is a major source of concern near the sun.
The camera’s lenses are made of a radiation-resistant BK7, a common type of glass used for space telescopes, which is also sufficiently hardened against dust, ” NASA describes.
This new image of Venus shows a bright ring bordering the edge of the planet. Researchers believe that it may be night glare – light that is emitted as oxygen atoms, which is broken down by sunlight and combined into molecules.
“Sorry … my mind wandered … once it went all the way to Venus and ordered a meal I could not pay for.” – Steven Wright
The dark region near the center of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. This geological feature appears dark due to the fact that it is about 30 degrees Celsius (85 F.) cooler than the surrounding terrain.
“WISPR has been adapted and tested for observations of visible light. We expected to see clouds, but the camera looked to the surface, ”explains Angelos Vourlidas, WISPR project scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
This was a surprise to researchers, who did not expect WISPR to see the features of Venus so clearly.
This poses a fascinating question for mission engineers and astronomers – why could WISPR see so clearly through the clouds of Venus? The two most likely possibilities are that WISPR can see better in infrared wavelengths than designers believed, or that there is or was a thinner cloud area that the camera could see through the haze.
Both causes offer exciting new science. If WISPR can effectively image infrared wavelengths of light, we have a new tool to study dust and pebbles like the rocky planets of the inner solar system. If there was a previously unknown break in the clouds, this feature can help us better understand the Venus atmosphere.
The WISPR team studies the Earth’s overheated companion in collaboration with the team that manages the Akatsuki mission of Venus in Japan. This spacecraft depicts Venus in infrared wavelengths, producing images similar to the unexpected images Parker took.
“If WISPR can detect the thermal emissions from the surface of Venus and night glow – probably of oxygen – to the limb of the planet, it could make valuable contributions to studies of the Venusian surface,” explains Javier Peralta, planetary scientist of the Akatsuki. team.
The WISPR team captured a second set of images of Venus’ nightmare on February 20, 2021. The analysis of the images should be completed by April this year.
This article was originally published on The cosmic companion by James Maynard, founder and publisher of The Cosmic Companion. He is a native New England desert rat in Tucson, where he lives with his beautiful wife, Nicole, and Max the Cat. You can read this original piece here.
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