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Venus: Atmospheric Motion and Structure from Mariner 10 Pictures

Bruce C. Murray, Michael J. S. Belton, G. Edward Danielson, Merton E. Davies, Donald Gault, Bruce Hapke, Brian O'Leary, Robert G. Strom, Verner Suomi, and Newell Trask
Science • 29 Mar 1974 • Vol 183, Issue 4131 • pp. 1307-1315 • DOI: 10.1126/science.183.4131.1307
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Abstract

The Mariner 10 television cameras imaged the planet Venus in the visible and near ultraviolet for a period of 8 days at resolutions ranging from 100 meters to 130 kilometers. The general pattern of the atmospheric circulation in the upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric region is displayed in the pictures. Atmospheric flow is symmetrical between north and south hemispheres. The equatorial motions are zonal (east-west) at approximately 100 meters per second, consistent with the previously inferred 4-day retrograde rotation. Angular velocity increases with latitude. The subsolar region, and the region downwind from it, show evidence of large-scale convection that persists in spite of the main zonal motion. Dynamical interaction between the zonal motion and the relatively stationary region of convection is evidenced by bowlike waves.

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Published In

Science
Volume 183 | Issue 4131
29 March 1974

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1974 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Published in print: 29 March 1974

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Bruce C. Murray
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91109
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Michael J. S. Belton
Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona 85717
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G. Edward Danielson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 91109
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Merton E. Davies
Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, Californtia 90401
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Donald Gault
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035
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Bruce Hapke
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
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Brian O'Leary
Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
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Robert G. Strom
University of Arizona, Tucson 85726
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Verner Suomi
University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706
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Newell Trask
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 22092
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Cited by
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    Abstract

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