Carbon dioxide fluorescence at Venus

This mosaic is composed of three consecutive images taken by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board ESA’s Venus Express in May 2006, at wavelength of at 4.33 micrometres.

It shows the carbon dioxide emission enhanced from a nadir (perpendicular) to the limb (side) observing angles. The colour scale shows the spatial variation of the emission, mostly related to the density variation of the atmospheric layer situated at 115-km altitude.