A Venusian Landscape
Credit:
This computer generated view of a Venusian volcano was created using data
from NASA's Magellan spacecraft.
Magellan used its onboard radar to
map the surface of Venus which is hidden from telescopic observations
by a perpetual cloud cover. Using this radar data to provide three
dimensional information, a computer was then able to produce this
view of Maat Mons, a 5 mile high volcano, from a dramatic
perspective. The colors used to render the surface are based on earlier
color images transmitted by TV cameras on the
Soviet Venera 13 and 14 Venus landers.