Venus Flyby
The spacecraft passed Venus on February 5, 1974, the closest approach being 5,768 km at 17:01 UT. Using a near-ultraviolet filter, it photographed the Cytherean chevron clouds and performed other atmospheric studies. It was discovered that extensive cloud detail could be seen through Mariner's ultraviolet camera filters. Venus's cloud cover is nearly featureless in visible light. Earth-based ultra-violet observation did reveal some indistinct blotching even before Mariner 10, but the detail seen by Mariner was a surprise to most researchers.
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Venus encounter
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Venus in real colors, processed from clear and blue filtered Mariner 10 images
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Mariner photograph of Venus in ultraviolet light
Read more about this topic: Mariner 10
Famous quotes containing the word venus:
“and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin
she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea
she is the female tunny-fish, round and happy among the males
and dense with happy blood, dark rainbow bliss in the sea.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)