Mariner 10's Venus
Date: 5 Feb 1974

Made using an ultraviolet filter in its imaging system, the photo has been color-enhanced to bring out Venus's cloudy atmosphere as the human eye would see it. Venus is perpetually blanketed by a thick veil of clouds high in carbon dioxide and its surface temperature approaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit.


Launched on 3 Nov. 1973 atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket, Mariner 10 flew by Venus in 1974.


Last Update: 7 Apr 2011 (AMB)

Credit: NASA