Double Vortex at Venus South Pole Raises New Mystery

These six different infrared images (in false colour) were taken by the Ultraviolet/Visible/Near-Infrared spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft between 12 and 19 April 2006, during the first orbit, or ‘capture orbit’, around the planet. The planet’s globe, imaged at different angles, was mapped onto an electronic mock-up of Venus, so to have the south pole always plotted at the centre of each single image. Around the south pole it is possible to see a peculiar double-eye vortex structure, never clearly seen by any other mission to Venus before. The sequence shows the rotation and variation of the double vortex over time. It is also possible to see the rotation of the ‘terminator’, the line separating the day side – visible in yellow - from the night side. The images also show the presence of a collar of cold air around the vortex structure (dark blue), possibly due to the recycling of cold air downwards. redits: ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA