Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Emily Lakdawalla • Jun 15, 2007

MESSENGER returned 614 images from Venus

Yesterday the Applied Physics Laboratory released the first few images from MESSENGER's second flyby of Venus; in all, 614 images were captured during the flyby. Here's one frame-filling global view:

Venus in MESSENGER's forward view

NASA / JHUAPL / Carnegie Institution of Washington

Venus in MESSENGER's forward view
MESSENGER snapped this image of Venus as it approached for its second flyby of the cloud-shrouded world on June 5.
Venus in MESSENGER's forward view (high-pass filtered version)

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW / Emily Lakdawalla

Venus in MESSENGER's forward view (high-pass filtered version)
This version of MESSENGER's approach image of Venus has been high-pass filtered to emphasize shorter-wavelength variations across the globe due to features in the clouds.

On an unrelated topic: Luke Dones corrected me on Atlas' role in Saturn's ring system; I've now edited the entry. Thanks Luke!