Swirling Vortex on Venus Caught in Action | Space Wallpaper

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Swirling Vortex on Venus Caught in Action
As the Venus Express spacecraft zoomed past the south pole of the a stunning photo of this swirling vortex (Image credit: ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA/Univ. Oxford)

While orbiting Venus, the ESA's Venus Express spacecraft, specifically the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer known as VIRTIS, captured the whirling gasses at the south pole. Other than glimpses from the 1970s missions of the Pioneer Venus and Mariner 10, details were not seen until 2006 with VIRTIS. [Learn more about the Venus vortex.]

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.