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Science 4 February 1972:
Vol. 175. no. 4021, pp. 514 - 516
DOI: 10.1126/science.175.4021.514
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Articles

Venus: Topography Revealed by Radar Data

D. B. Campbell 1, R. B. Dyce 1, R. P. Ingalls 2, G. H. Pettengill 3, and I. I. Shapiro 3

1 National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612
2 Haystack Observatory, Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation, Westford, Massachusetts 01886
3 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139

Surface height variations over the entire equatorial region on Venus have been estimated from extended series of measurements of interplanetary radar echo delays. Most notable is a mountainous section of about 3-kilometer peak height located at a longitude of 100 degrees (International Astronomical Union coordinate system). The eastern edge has an average inclination of about 0.5 degrees, which is unusually steep for a large-scale slope on Venus. The resolution of the radar measurements along the surface of Venus varied between about 200 and 400 kilometers with a repeatability in altitude determination generally between 200 and 500 meters. The mean equatorial radius was found to be 6050.0±0.5 kilometers.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Structure of the Atmosphere of Venus up to 110 Kilometers: Preliminary Results from the Four Pioneer Venus Entry Probes.
A. SEIFF, D. B. KIRK, S. C. SOMMER, R. E. YOUNG, R. C. BLANCHARD, D. W. JUERGENS, J. E. LEPETICH, P. F. INTRIERI, J. T. FINDLAY, and J. S. DERR (1979)
Science 203, 787-790
   Abstract »    PDF »
Pioneer Venus Radar Mapper Experiment.
G. H. PETTENGILL, P. G. FORD, W. E. BROWN, W. M. KAULA, C. H. KELLER, H. MASURSKY, and G. E. MCGILL (1979)
Science 203, 806-808
   Abstract »    PDF »
Venus: Radar Determination of Gravity Potential.
I. I. Shapiro, I. I. Shapiro, G. H. Pettengill, G. N. Sherman, A. E. E. Rogers, and R. P. Ingalls (1973)
Science 179, 473-476
   Abstract »    PDF »


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