Naked Venus Controversy: How would Venus look to the naked eye?

[zerocd]

Where did the "sunny day" shots come from Zorgan and are there more?

@hobbit  my wife is Irish and American Indian. Talk about fire and brimstone!

[zorgon]

The 'sunny day' shots are the radar images taken by the Magellan space craft. Most pictures created from that are colored NASA Lava Orange.

Magellan Mission to Venus

NASA's Magellan spacecraft made a dramatic conclusion to its highly successful mission at Venus when it is commanded to plunge into the planet's dense atmosphere Tuesday, October 11, 1994. During its four years in orbit around Earth's sister planet, the spacecraft has radar-mapped 98 percent of the surface and collected high-resolution gravity data of Venus. The purpose of the crash landing is to gain data on the planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it descends

NASA seems to really enjoy deliberately smashing space craft onto planets, moons, asteroids, etc.



Welcome to the Magellan Project home page!

The problem is only a few selected images are easily available. many of the links to the raw planetary data are no longer active, so I will have to track down where they went. I never saved all the Magellan images yet 

[zorgon]

Here is a very interesting article...

Venus was once like Earth

MOSCOW, November 29. 2007 (RIA Novosti) - A European probe which is orbiting Venus has provided evidence through its remote-sensing data that the planet was once very much like the Earth, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.

The Venus Express probe was launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) mission in November 2005, with the aim of conducting remote research of the atmosphere of Earth's closest planet.

Dmitri Titov, Venus Express science coordinator said in Germany: "The spacecraft has revealed the structure and movements of the atmosphere, from its upper reaches to just above the surface, and has obtained the best global map of atmospheric temperatures to date. This is already improving our understanding of the global dynamics and the meteorology of Venus."

Alexander Vorobyov, press secretary of Russia's space agency said on Thursday: "The research results give us basis to suppose that Venus was in fact once the spitting image of the Earth and, not only as far as dimensions are concerned, but also by the processes which took place on the surface, but then they drifted apart."

The research has revealed a number of surprising phenomena so far. The ESA press release said that the research had proved that Venus has an atmosphere the "densest of all the rocky planets," which is being constantly stripped away by solar wind together with the planet's water as it does not have a magnetic shield like Earth.

In addition, lightning on the planet, which was considered controversial, has been confirmed by the data leading to a better understanding of the planet and its climate evolution.

Fred Taylor, a Venus Express interdisciplinary scientist from the U.K. described Venus as "Earth's twin, but separated at birth."

More than 250 scientists and engineers from various European countries including Russia are taking part in the Venus Express mission.

Venus was once like Earth - RIA Novosti. Russia

[zorgon]

Contrails? or Chemtrails?  Lol

YOU decide NASA says this is the highest resolution available


P38281 - Atla Region on Venus - 06/27/91

P-38281 MGN52
June 27, 1991

This Magellan image from the Atla region of Venus shows several types of volcanic features and superimposed surface fractures. The area in the image is approximately 350 kilometers (217 miles) across, centered at 9 degrees south latitude, 199 degrees east longitude. Lava flows emanating from circular pits or linear fissures form flower-shaped patterns in several areas. A collapse depression approximately 20 kilometers by 10 kilometers (12 by 6 miles) near the center of the image is drained by a lava channel approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) long. Numerous surface fractures and graben (linear valleys) criss-cross the volcanic deposits in north to northeast trends. The fractures are not buried by the lavas, indicating that the tectonic activity post-dates most of the volcanic activity.

[zorgon]

Unusual Volcano on Venus

P-39916 MGN-93
March 16, 1992

This unusual Venusian volcano is located on the plains between Artemis Chasma and Imdr Regio at 37.5 degrees south latitude and 164.5 degrees east longitude. The dome structure with lava channels radiating from the volcanic center is about 100 km (62 miles) across. This volcanic feature has been imaged by Magellan in both left-looking and right-looking modes. This image, from the second mapping cycle, was taken from the right. The volcano and its lava flows appear much the same in both images, but there are two important differences. In the left-looking image west- facing slopes are brighter because they are tilted toward the radar. In this right-looking image, west-facing slopes are darker because they face away from the radar. Another difference is the image displacement caused by elevation differences as seen by the radar from the two sides. The top of a flow margin is displaced toward the radar relative to its base. The displacement is in the opposite direction in the two images. The sum of the two displacements is called parallax and can be used to estimate the height of features. The topographic relief that can be measured horizontally is much more precise than can be measured with the altimeter (about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles). Parallax measurements show that the thickness of the lobe of lava at the left-center edges of the image is variable but typically about 540 meters (1772 feet). This measurement conflicts with the altimetry measurement. The fan-shaped lava flow in the lower left is about 120 meters (394 feet) thick near its edge. Lava scarps on the east side of the complex are about 90 meters (295 feet) high. (See P-39717)

Unusual Volcano on Venus

[zorgon]

Three Unusual Volcanos in Guinevere Planita

P-40286 MGN-99
May 29, 1992

This image, with radar illumination from west to east, shows three unusual volcanoes located in the Guinevere Planitia lowland. At the center of the image is a large feature (50 kilometers or 31 miles in diameter) with an unusual shape: very round when viewed from above with steep-sides and a flat top. These volcanoes are believed to be the result of relatively thick and sticky (viscous) lava flows that originated from a point source. Although a faint remnant of its original circular shape is preserved, the northern rim of this central volcano has a steep scarp. The scarp is probably the result of material that has slid away from the volcano and subsequently has been covered by lava flows. This volcano overlaps another feature to the southwest that is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) in diameter and disrupted by many fractures. The southeastern volcano (25 kilometers or 15.5 miles in diameter) appears to be the highest of the three as its illuminated western edge has the brightest radar return. The scalloped edges give this feature a bottle-cap like appearance. The highly scalloped edges are probably the result of multiple material slides along the volcano margin.

Three Unusual Volcanos in Guinevere Planita

[zorgon]

I will post any images of Venus by Magellan that I can find. They say they mapped 98% of the surface but only a few images are available that I can find at the moment...

Dickinson Impact Crater

P-39716
2/10/92

This Magellan image is centered at 74.6 degrees north latitude and 177.3 east longitude, in the northeastern Atalanta Region of Venus. The image is approximately 185 kilometers (115 miles) wide at the base and shows Dickinson, an impact crater 69 kilometers (43 miles) in diameter. The crater is complex, characterized by a partial central ring and a floor flooded by radar-dark and radar-bright materials. Hummocky, rough-textured ejecta extend all around the crater, except to the west. The lack of ejecta to the west may indicate that the impactor that produced the crater was an oblique impact from the west. Extensive radar-bright flows that emanate from the crater's eastern walls may represent large volumes of impact melt, or they may be the result of volcanic material released from the subsurface during the cratering event.

Dickinson Impact Crater

[zorgon]

Longest Channel in the Solar System

P-39226 MGN-82
October 29, 1991

This full resolution radar mosaic from Magellan at 49 degrees south latitude, 273 degrees east longitude of an area with dimensions of 130 by 190 kilometers (81 by 118 miles), shows a 200 kilometer (124 mile) segment of a sinuous channel on Venus. The channel is approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide. These channel-like features are common on the plains of Venus. In some places they appear to have been formed by lava which may have melted or thermally eroded a path over the plains' surface. Most are 1 to 3 kilometers (0.6 to 2 miles) wide. They resemble terrestrial rivers in some respects, with meanders, cutoff oxbows, and abandoned channel segments. However, Venus channels are not as tightly sinuous as terrestrial rivers. Most are partly buried by younger lava plains, making their sources difficult to identify. A few have vast radar-dark plains units associated with them, suggesting large flow volumes. These channels appear to be older than other channel types on Venus, as they are crossed by fractures and wrinkle ridges, and are often buried by other volcanic materials. In addition, they appear to run both upslope and downslope, suggesting that the plains were warped by regional tectonism after channel formation. Resolution of the Magellan data is about 120 meters (400 feet).

Longest Channel in the Solar System

[zorgon]

Volcano with Comet-Like Tail

P-38810
8/12/91

The comet-like tail trending northeast from this volcanic edifice is a relatively radar-bright deposit. The volcano, whose basal diameter is 5 kilometers (about 3 miles), is a local topographic high that has slowed down northeast trending winds enough to cause deposition of this material. The streak is 35 kilometers long and 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) wide. The volcano is located at the western end of Parga Chasma at 9.4 degrees south latitude, 247.5 degrees east longitude.

Volcano with Comet-Like Tail

[zorgon]

Remarkable "Half Crater"

P-38741
8/12/91

This remarkable "half crater" is located in the rift between Rhea and Theia Montes in Beta Regio. Radar illumination is from the left. The as yet unnamed crater is 37 (23 miles) kilometers in diameter and is located at latitude 29.91 degrees north, longitude 282.9 degrees east. It has been cut by many fractures or faults since it was formed by the impact of a large asteroid. The eastern half of the crater has been completely destroyed during the formation of a fault-valley that is up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide and apparently quite deep.

A north-south profile through the very center of this crater is visible as a result of the downdropping and removal of the eastern half of the crater. This "profile view" gives a third dimension to the crater. Thus it will be beneficial to "illuminate" this area from the opposite side (right-looking) with the Magellan SAR during a later mapping cycle, permitting an even more detailed view of the geologic structure of this feature.

Remarkable "Half Crater"

[zorgon]

Pancake Domes in Eistla Region

P-38388 MGN53
June 27, 1991

This Magellan full resolution mosaic, centered at 12.3 north latitude, 8.3 degrees east longitude, shows an area 160 kilometers (96 miles) by 250 kilometers (150 miles) in the Eistla region of Venus. The prominent circular features are volcanic domes, 65 kilometers (39 miles) in diameter with broad, flat tops less than one kilometer (0.6 mile) in height. Sometimes referred to as "pancake" domes, they represent a unique category of volcanic extrusions on Venus formed from viscous (sticky) lava. The cracks and pits commonly found in these features result from cooling and the withdrawal of lava. A less viscous flow was emitted from the northeastern dome toward the other large dome in the southwest corner of the image.

Pancake Domes in Eistla Region

[zorgon]

Aine Corona with Pancake Domes

P-38340 MGN-48
5/21/91

This Magellan radar image shows a region approximately 300 kilometers (180 miles) across, centered on 59 degrees south latitude, 164 degrees east longitude and located in a vast plain to the south of Aphrodite Terra. The data for this image were obtained in January 1991. The large circular structure near the center of the image is a corona, approximately 200 kilometers in diameter and provisionally named Aine Corona. Just north of Aine Corona is one of the flat-topped volcanic constructs known as "pancake" domes for their shape and flap-jack appearance. This pancake dome is about 35 kilometer (21 miles) in diameter and is thought to have formed by the eruption of an extremely viscous lava. Another pancake dome is located inside the western part of the annulus of the corona fractures. Complex fracture patterns like the one in the upper right of the image are often observed in association with coronae and various volcanic features. They are thought to form because magma beneath the surface follows pre-existing fracture patterns. When eruptions or other movements of the magma occur, the magma drains from the fractures and the overlying surface rock collapses. Other volcanic features associated with Aine Corona include a set of small domes, each less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) across, located along the southern portion of the annulus of fractures, and a smooth, flat region in the center of the corona, probably a relatively young lava flow. The range of volcanic features associated with coronae suggests that volcanism plays a significant role in the formation of coronae.

Aine Corona with Pancake Domes

[zorgon]

Now from the same site, a comparrison showing NASA Lava Orange colored images

WHY? Why do they need to do this? Especially so intense saturation that you cannot see anything of value?

Oh yeah... I guess that's the plan


P42386 - Ushas Mons Volcano - 05/26/93


P42392 - 3-D Perspective of Ovda Regio - 05/26/93


P42393 - Another 3-D Perspective of Ovda Regio - 05/26/93


P38218 - 3-D Perpective of Eistla Regio

Good Old NASA - Masters of Obfuscation

[zorgon]

Speaking of Clear Skies

What I find amazing in the following images from the old Russian Venera space craft is how clear and bright the sky is, considering what we are told the atmosphere is supposed to be like

The Surface of Venus Revealed
Saturday, November 11th, 2006


Venera13


Venera14

During the cold-war between America and the Soviets the real race was to the moon, but once that race was won a lesser race began to see who would master Mars exploration. After an unbelievably long series of failed Soviet missions to Mars — America managed to take the lead position in Mars exploration as well, with the Mariner and Viking missions. So the Soviets turned their eyes to our other neighbor, Venus, which seemed to garner very little attention from America apart from a few flyby missions. The Russians had Venus all to themselves and really didn't have to be too concerned with anyone beating them to the punch.

So during the early 70's the Soviets managed to be quite successful with multiple Venera missions to Venus which included various flybys, orbiters, radar mapping of the surface and even multiple landings on the surface. Some of the missions had failed, but most completed their missions and we have the above color images to prove it. Recently though, I stumbled across these projections of the above images which I have never seen before.

The Surface of Venus Revealed

Someone who knows about such things, Don P. Mitchell (see more on his blog mentallandscape.com) had returned to the original data sent to us by the Venera spacecraft from over 30 years ago and with new computing techniques, managed to reveal to us Venus anew. Instead of just looking at some stones and tiny hints at what a Venusian sky might look like, these projections show what it might actually look like walking on the surface of Venus. The main part of the image above is a composite from spherical projections, which are seen at the top-right, remapped to perspective projections. The way the projection works is the closer you get to the very center of the image, the less accurate the representation may be. However, there is evidence in the data to assume most of what you see here even at the very center where the data was at most thin, is still fairly accurate.

Unfortunately the new projection images were only in black and white and i really missed what seemed to be really fascinating color from the original Venera images... so I tried to colorize it to match the originals.

This interpretation [below] is artistic and not based upon any data other than looking at the original images and trying to assume some of those colors back into Don's black and white image.

The Surface of Venus Revealed

[zorgon]

Originally posted by SheopleNation
reply to post by Alienmojo

I want to believe that the photo is real probably even more than you do my friend, but it's impossible for me to know that. However, those cameras, let alone all the equipment would have burnt up miles above the surface of Venus. It's a fraud my friend. I don't like that answer either, but why even buy into a nation that lies all the time, not that we don't as well?

It is not a fraud it is created from the 360 degree panorama set

The Venera panoramas are spherical projections. They can be remapped to perspective projections and overlayed (using Adobe Photoshop CS2) to produce views that give a better subjective impression of the Venusian surface. In the overhead view, notice the shadowing around the lander. Surface illumination is from the uniformly bright hemisphere of the sky, but the lander blocks part of the sky from nearby ground.

Venera 13 on left, Venera 14 on right

http://mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogVenus.htm