New View of Venus’ Nightside

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Text, News From The Universe. March 12, 2021
 
New View of Venus' Night-side
 
A lone space probe moves past Venus.
 
NASA's Parker Solar Probe sent back surprises to scientists during its recent close fly-by of Venus.
 
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Parker captured this image of Venus from 7,693 miles away.
 
A black and white image shows a mottled planet surface streaked with white lines.
 
Text, The bright streaks are caused either by sunlight reflecting off dust or charged particles called cosmic rays.

The biggest surprise is Venus' dark surface features, which scientists expected tp be obscured by clouds.
 
The ability to see the surface presents new scientific opportunities.
 
Either Parker can detect more than anticipated, or a new "window" through the atmosphere has been discovered.
 
Parker will make several more fly-bys of Venus, and scientists eagerly await the additional information it will collect.
 
This news was brought to you in part by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD