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Science 18 February 1972:
Vol. 175. no. 4023, pp. 748 - 751
DOI: 10.1126/science.175.4023.748
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Articles

Venus Clouds: A Dirty Hydrochloric Acid Model

Bruce Hapke 1

1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

The spectral and polarization data for Venus are consistent with micrometer-sized aerosol cloud particles of hydrochloric acid with soluble and insoluble iron compounds, whose source could be volcanic or crustal dust. The yellow color of the clouds could be due to absorption bands in the near ultraviolet involving ferric iron and chlorine complexes. The ultraviolet features could arise from variations in the concentrations of iron and hydrochloric acid in the cloud particles.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)