venus1

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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 
91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

PHOTO CAPTION

Magellan
P-45390

March 16, 1995

This hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by  more than a 
decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 
Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The 
Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of Venus at a 
resolution of about 100 meters; the effective resolution of this 
image is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images 
(most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps 
in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-
based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees 
latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere 
(primarily near the south pole). The composite image was 
processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, 
and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation 
data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry 
from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. 
An Orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of 
one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed 
for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. 
Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.

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