A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express

P. Drossart; G. Piccioni; J. C. Gérard; M. A. Lopez-Valverde; A. Sanchez-Lavega; L. Zasova; R. Hueso; F. W. Taylor; B. Bézard; A. Adriani; F. Angrilli; G. Arnold; K. H. Baines; G. Bellucci; J. Benkhoff; J. P. Bibring; A. Blanco; M. I. Blecka; R. W. Carlson; A. Coradini; A. Di Lellis; T. Encrenaz; S. Erard; S. Fonti; V. Formisano; T. Fouchet; R. Garcia; R. Haus; J. Helbert; N. I. Ignatiev; P. Irwin; Y. Langevin; S. Lebonnois; D. Luz; L. Marinangeli; V. Orofino; A. V. Rodin; M. C. Roos-Serote; B. Saggin; D. M. Stam; D. Titov; G. Visconti; M. Zambelli; C. Tsang; Eleonora Ammannito; Alessandra Barbis; Rainer Berlin; Carlo Bettanini; Angelo Boccaccini; Guillaume Bonnello; Marc Bouyé; Fabrizio Capaccioni; Alejandro Cardesin; Francesco Carraro; Giovanni Cherubini; Massimo Cosi; Michele Dami; Maurizio De Nino; Davide Del Vento; Marco Di Giampietro; Alessandro Donati; Olivier Dupuis; Sylvie Espinasse; Anna Fabbri; Agnès Fave; Iacopo Ficai Veltroni; Gianrico Filacchione; Katia Garceran; Yamina Ghomchi; Maurizio Giustizi; Brigitte Gondet; Yann Hello; Florence Henry; Stefan Hofer; Gerard Huntzinger; Juergen Kachlicki; René Knoll; Driss Kouach; Alessandro Mazzoni; Riccardo Melchiorri; Giuseppe Mondello; Francesco Monti; Christian Neumann; Fabrizio Nuccilli; Jérôme Parisot; Claudio Pasqui; Stefano Perferi; Gisbert Peter; Alain Piacentino; Carlo Pompei; Jean Michel Réess; Jean Pierre Rivet; Antonio Romano; Natalie Russ; Massimo Santoni; Adelmo Scarpelli; Alain Sémery; Alain Soufflot; Douchane Stefanovitch; Enrico Suetta; Fabio Tarchi; Nazzareno Tonetti; Federico Tosi; Bernd Ulmer

doi:10.1038/nature06140

A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express

P. Drossart
, G. Piccioni
, J. C. Gérard
, M. A. Lopez-Valverde
, A. Sanchez-Lavega
, L. Zasova
, R. Hueso
, F. W. Taylor
, B. Bézard
, A. Adriani
, F. Angrilli
, G. Arnold
, K. H. Baines
, G. Bellucci
, J. Benkhoff
, J. P. Bibring
, A. Blanco
, M. I. Blecka
, R. W. Carlson
, A. Coradini

A. Di Lellis, T. Encrenaz, S. Erard, S. Fonti, V. Formisano, T. Fouchet, R. Garcia, R. Haus, J. Helbert, N. I. Ignatiev, P. Irwin, Y. Langevin, S. Lebonnois, D. Luz, L. Marinangeli, V. Orofino, A. V. Rodin, M. C. Roos-Serote, B. Saggin, D. M. Stam, D. Titov, G. Visconti, M. Zambelli, C. Tsang, Eleonora Ammannito, Alessandra Barbis, Rainer Berlin, Carlo Bettanini, Angelo Boccaccini, Guillaume Bonnello, Marc Bouyé, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Alejandro Cardesin, Francesco Carraro, Giovanni Cherubini, Massimo Cosi, Michele Dami, Maurizio De Nino, Davide Del Vento, Marco Di Giampietro, Alessandro Donati, Olivier Dupuis, Sylvie Espinasse, Anna Fabbri, Agnès Fave, Iacopo Ficai Veltroni, Gianrico Filacchione, Katia Garceran, Yamina Ghomchi, Maurizio Giustizi, Brigitte Gondet, Yann Hello, Florence Henry, Stefan Hofer, Gerard Huntzinger, Juergen Kachlicki, René Knoll, Driss Kouach, Alessandro Mazzoni, Riccardo Melchiorri, Giuseppe Mondello, Francesco Monti, Christian Neumann, Fabrizio Nuccilli, Jérôme Parisot, Claudio Pasqui, Stefano Perferi, Gisbert Peter, Alain Piacentino, Carlo Pompei, Jean Michel Réess, Jean Pierre Rivet, Antonio Romano, Natalie Russ, Massimo Santoni, Adelmo Scarpelli, Alain Sémery, Alain Soufflot, Douchane Stefanovitch, Enrico Suetta, Fabio Tarchi, Nazzareno Tonetti, Federico Tosi, Bernd Ulmer

LESIA - Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique
INAF-IASF
University of Liège
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía-CSIC
University of the Basque Country
Space Research Institute (IKI)
University of Oxford
INAF-IFSI
University of Padova
DLR
Science Division
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
University of Salento
Polish Academy of Sciences
AMDLSPACE
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Lisbon Astronomical Observatory
University “G. D'Annunzio”
Politecnico di Milano
University of Amsterdam
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Università Dell'Aquila
Galileo Avionica S.p.A.
Sorbonne Univ.
ASI
Techno System Developments
Kayser Threde

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The upper atmosphere of a planet is a transition region in which energy is transferred between the deeper atmosphere and outer space. Molecular emissions from the upper atmosphere (90-120 km altitude) of Venus can be used to investigate the energetics and to trace the circulation of this hitherto little-studied region. Previous spacecraft and ground-based observations of infrared emission from CO₂, O₂ and NO have established that photochemical and dynamic activity controls the structure of the upper atmosphere of Venus. These data, however, have left unresolved the precise altitude of the emission owing to a lack of data and of an adequate observing geometry. Here we report measurements of day-side CO₂ non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emission at 4.3 νm, extending from 90 to 120 km altitude, and of night-side O₂ emission extending from 95 to 100 km. The CO₂ emission peak occurs at ∼115 km and varies with solar zenith angle over a range of ∼10 km. This confirms previous modelling, and permits the beginning of a systematic study of the variability of the emission. The O₂ peak emission happens at 96 km ± 1 km, which is consistent with three-body recombination of oxygen atoms transported from the day side by a global thermospheric sub-solar to anti-solar circulation, as previously predicted.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	641-645
Number of pages	5
Journal	Nature
Volume	450
Issue number	7170
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06140
Publication status	Published - 29 Nov 2007

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Drossart, P., Piccioni, G., Gérard, J. C., Lopez-Valverde, M. A., Sanchez-Lavega, A., Zasova, L., Hueso, R., Taylor, F. W., Bézard, B., Adriani, A., Angrilli, F., Arnold, G., Baines, K. H., Bellucci, G., Benkhoff, J., Bibring, J. P., Blanco, A., Blecka, M. I., Carlson, R. W., ... Ulmer, B. (2007). A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express. Nature, 450(7170), 641-645. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06140

@article{2ef07dbb18b043bf9a18ad188132489b,

title = "A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express",

abstract = "The upper atmosphere of a planet is a transition region in which energy is transferred between the deeper atmosphere and outer space. Molecular emissions from the upper atmosphere (90-120 km altitude) of Venus can be used to investigate the energetics and to trace the circulation of this hitherto little-studied region. Previous spacecraft and ground-based observations of infrared emission from CO2, O2 and NO have established that photochemical and dynamic activity controls the structure of the upper atmosphere of Venus. These data, however, have left unresolved the precise altitude of the emission owing to a lack of data and of an adequate observing geometry. Here we report measurements of day-side CO2 non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emission at 4.3 νm, extending from 90 to 120 km altitude, and of night-side O2 emission extending from 95 to 100 km. The CO2 emission peak occurs at ∼115 km and varies with solar zenith angle over a range of ∼10 km. This confirms previous modelling, and permits the beginning of a systematic study of the variability of the emission. The O2 peak emission happens at 96 km ± 1 km, which is consistent with three-body recombination of oxygen atoms transported from the day side by a global thermospheric sub-solar to anti-solar circulation, as previously predicted.",

author = "P. Drossart and G. Piccioni and G{\'e}rard, \{J. C.\} and Lopez-Valverde, \{M. A.\} and A. Sanchez-Lavega and L. Zasova and R. Hueso and Taylor, \{F. W.\} and B. B{\'e}zard and A. Adriani and F. Angrilli and G. Arnold and Baines, \{K. H.\} and G. Bellucci and J. Benkhoff and Bibring, \{J. P.\} and A. Blanco and Blecka, \{M. I.\} and Carlson, \{R. W.\} and A. Coradini and \{Di Lellis\}, A. and T. Encrenaz and S. Erard and S. Fonti and V. Formisano and T. Fouchet and R. Garcia and R. Haus and J. Helbert and Ignatiev, \{N. I.\} and P. Irwin and Y. Langevin and S. Lebonnois and D. Luz and L. Marinangeli and V. Orofino and Rodin, \{A. V.\} and Roos-Serote, \{M. C.\} and B. Saggin and Stam, \{D. M.\} and D. Titov and G. Visconti and M. Zambelli and C. Tsang and Eleonora Ammannito and Alessandra Barbis and Rainer Berlin and Carlo Bettanini and Angelo Boccaccini and Guillaume Bonnello and Marc Bouy{\'e} and Fabrizio Capaccioni and Alejandro Cardesin and Francesco Carraro and Giovanni Cherubini and Massimo Cosi and Michele Dami and \{De Nino\}, Maurizio and \{Del Vento\}, Davide and \{Di Giampietro\}, Marco and Alessandro Donati and Olivier Dupuis and Sylvie Espinasse and Anna Fabbri and Agn{\`e}s Fave and \{Ficai Veltroni\}, Iacopo and Gianrico Filacchione and Katia Garceran and Yamina Ghomchi and Maurizio Giustizi and Brigitte Gondet and Yann Hello and Florence Henry and Stefan Hofer and Gerard Huntzinger and Juergen Kachlicki and Ren{\'e} Knoll and Driss Kouach and Alessandro Mazzoni and Riccardo Melchiorri and Giuseppe Mondello and Francesco Monti and Christian Neumann and Fabrizio Nuccilli and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Parisot and Claudio Pasqui and Stefano Perferi and Gisbert Peter and Alain Piacentino and Carlo Pompei and R{\'e}ess, \{Jean Michel\} and Rivet, \{Jean Pierre\} and Antonio Romano and Natalie Russ and Massimo Santoni and Adelmo Scarpelli and Alain S{\'e}mery and Alain Soufflot and Douchane Stefanovitch and Enrico Suetta and Fabio Tarchi and Nazzareno Tonetti and Federico Tosi and Bernd Ulmer",

year = "2007",

month = nov,

day = "29",

doi = "10.1038/nature06140",

language = "English",

volume = "450",

pages = "641--645",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

number = "7170",

}

Drossart, P, Piccioni, G, Gérard, JC, Lopez-Valverde, MA, Sanchez-Lavega, A, Zasova, L, Hueso, R, Taylor, FW, Bézard, B, Adriani, A, Angrilli, F, Arnold, G, Baines, KH, Bellucci, G, Benkhoff, J, Bibring, JP, Blanco, A, Blecka, MI, Carlson, RW, Coradini, A, Di Lellis, A, Encrenaz, T, Erard, S, Fonti, S, Formisano, V, Fouchet, T, Garcia, R, Haus, R, Helbert, J, Ignatiev, NI, Irwin, P, Langevin, Y, Lebonnois, S, Luz, D, Marinangeli, L, Orofino, V, Rodin, AV, Roos-Serote, MC, Saggin, B, Stam, DM, Titov, D, Visconti, G, Zambelli, M, Tsang, C, Ammannito, E, Barbis, A, Berlin, R, Bettanini, C, Boccaccini, A, Bonnello, G, Bouyé, M, Capaccioni, F, Cardesin, A, Carraro, F, Cherubini, G, Cosi, M, Dami, M, De Nino, M, Del Vento, D, Di Giampietro, M, Donati, A, Dupuis, O, Espinasse, S, Fabbri, A, Fave, A, Ficai Veltroni, I, Filacchione, G, Garceran, K, Ghomchi, Y, Giustizi, M, Gondet, B, Hello, Y, Henry, F, Hofer, S, Huntzinger, G, Kachlicki, J, Knoll, R, Kouach, D, Mazzoni, A, Melchiorri, R, Mondello, G, Monti, F, Neumann, C, Nuccilli, F, Parisot, J, Pasqui, C, Perferi, S, Peter, G, Piacentino, A, Pompei, C, Réess, JM, Rivet, JP, Romano, A, Russ, N, Santoni, M, Scarpelli, A, Sémery, A, Soufflot, A, Stefanovitch, D, Suetta, E, Tarchi, F, Tonetti, N, Tosi, F & Ulmer, B 2007, 'A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express', Nature, vol. 450, no. 7170, pp. 641-645. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06140

TY - JOUR

T1 - A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express

AU - Drossart, P.

AU - Piccioni, G.

AU - Gérard, J. C.

AU - Lopez-Valverde, M. A.

AU - Sanchez-Lavega, A.

AU - Zasova, L.

AU - Hueso, R.

AU - Taylor, F. W.

AU - Bézard, B.

AU - Adriani, A.

AU - Angrilli, F.

AU - Arnold, G.

AU - Baines, K. H.

AU - Bellucci, G.

AU - Benkhoff, J.

AU - Bibring, J. P.

AU - Blanco, A.

AU - Blecka, M. I.

AU - Carlson, R. W.

AU - Coradini, A.

AU - Di Lellis, A.

AU - Encrenaz, T.

AU - Erard, S.

AU - Fonti, S.

AU - Formisano, V.

AU - Fouchet, T.

AU - Garcia, R.

AU - Haus, R.

AU - Helbert, J.

AU - Ignatiev, N. I.

AU - Irwin, P.

AU - Langevin, Y.

AU - Lebonnois, S.

AU - Luz, D.

AU - Marinangeli, L.

AU - Orofino, V.

AU - Rodin, A. V.

AU - Roos-Serote, M. C.

AU - Saggin, B.

AU - Stam, D. M.

AU - Titov, D.

AU - Visconti, G.

AU - Zambelli, M.

AU - Tsang, C.

AU - Ammannito, Eleonora

AU - Barbis, Alessandra

AU - Berlin, Rainer

AU - Bettanini, Carlo

AU - Boccaccini, Angelo

AU - Bonnello, Guillaume

AU - Bouyé, Marc

AU - Capaccioni, Fabrizio

AU - Cardesin, Alejandro

AU - Carraro, Francesco

AU - Cherubini, Giovanni

AU - Cosi, Massimo

AU - Dami, Michele

AU - De Nino, Maurizio

AU - Del Vento, Davide

AU - Di Giampietro, Marco

AU - Donati, Alessandro

AU - Dupuis, Olivier

AU - Espinasse, Sylvie

AU - Fabbri, Anna

AU - Fave, Agnès

AU - Ficai Veltroni, Iacopo

AU - Filacchione, Gianrico

AU - Garceran, Katia

AU - Ghomchi, Yamina

AU - Giustizi, Maurizio

AU - Gondet, Brigitte

AU - Hello, Yann

AU - Henry, Florence

AU - Hofer, Stefan

AU - Huntzinger, Gerard

AU - Kachlicki, Juergen

AU - Knoll, René

AU - Kouach, Driss

AU - Mazzoni, Alessandro

AU - Melchiorri, Riccardo

AU - Mondello, Giuseppe

AU - Monti, Francesco

AU - Neumann, Christian

AU - Nuccilli, Fabrizio

AU - Parisot, Jérôme

AU - Pasqui, Claudio

AU - Perferi, Stefano

AU - Peter, Gisbert

AU - Piacentino, Alain

AU - Pompei, Carlo

AU - Réess, Jean Michel

AU - Rivet, Jean Pierre

AU - Romano, Antonio

AU - Russ, Natalie

AU - Santoni, Massimo

AU - Scarpelli, Adelmo

AU - Sémery, Alain

AU - Soufflot, Alain

AU - Stefanovitch, Douchane

AU - Suetta, Enrico

AU - Tarchi, Fabio

AU - Tonetti, Nazzareno

AU - Tosi, Federico

AU - Ulmer, Bernd

PY - 2007/11/29

Y1 - 2007/11/29

N2 - The upper atmosphere of a planet is a transition region in which energy is transferred between the deeper atmosphere and outer space. Molecular emissions from the upper atmosphere (90-120 km altitude) of Venus can be used to investigate the energetics and to trace the circulation of this hitherto little-studied region. Previous spacecraft and ground-based observations of infrared emission from CO2, O2 and NO have established that photochemical and dynamic activity controls the structure of the upper atmosphere of Venus. These data, however, have left unresolved the precise altitude of the emission owing to a lack of data and of an adequate observing geometry. Here we report measurements of day-side CO2 non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emission at 4.3 νm, extending from 90 to 120 km altitude, and of night-side O2 emission extending from 95 to 100 km. The CO2 emission peak occurs at ∼115 km and varies with solar zenith angle over a range of ∼10 km. This confirms previous modelling, and permits the beginning of a systematic study of the variability of the emission. The O2 peak emission happens at 96 km ± 1 km, which is consistent with three-body recombination of oxygen atoms transported from the day side by a global thermospheric sub-solar to anti-solar circulation, as previously predicted.

AB - The upper atmosphere of a planet is a transition region in which energy is transferred between the deeper atmosphere and outer space. Molecular emissions from the upper atmosphere (90-120 km altitude) of Venus can be used to investigate the energetics and to trace the circulation of this hitherto little-studied region. Previous spacecraft and ground-based observations of infrared emission from CO2, O2 and NO have established that photochemical and dynamic activity controls the structure of the upper atmosphere of Venus. These data, however, have left unresolved the precise altitude of the emission owing to a lack of data and of an adequate observing geometry. Here we report measurements of day-side CO2 non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emission at 4.3 νm, extending from 90 to 120 km altitude, and of night-side O2 emission extending from 95 to 100 km. The CO2 emission peak occurs at ∼115 km and varies with solar zenith angle over a range of ∼10 km. This confirms previous modelling, and permits the beginning of a systematic study of the variability of the emission. The O2 peak emission happens at 96 km ± 1 km, which is consistent with three-body recombination of oxygen atoms transported from the day side by a global thermospheric sub-solar to anti-solar circulation, as previously predicted.

U2 - 10.1038/nature06140

DO - 10.1038/nature06140

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:36749095147

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 450

SP - 641

EP - 645

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7170

ER -

A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express

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