Convection cells in the Venusian atmosphere

This image, taken with the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) on board ESA’s Venus Express shows small convection cells downstream of the point where the sunlight hits the planet perpendicularly (sub-solar point), at 10º north, 125º east, 13:16 Local Solar Time.

The picture was taken in the ultraviolet, at 365 nanometres, while Venus Express was in orbit at an altitude of 5500 km from the surface on 26 December 2006.