• DOI:10.1126/science.205.4401.76
• Corpus ID: 28250903

Nature of the Ultraviolet Absorber in the Venus Clouds: Inferences Based on Pioneer Venus Data

@article{Pollack1979NatureOT,
  title={Nature of the Ultraviolet Absorber in the Venus Clouds: Inferences Based on Pioneer Venus Data},
  author={James B. Pollack and Boris Ragent and Robert W. Boese and Martin George Tomasko and Jacques Blamont and Robert G. Knollenberg and Larry W. Esposito and A. Ian F. Stewart and Lawrence Travis},
  journal={Science},
  year={1979},
  volume={205},
  pages={76 - 79}
}

• J. Pollack, B. Ragent, +6 authors Lawrence Travis
• Published 6 July 1979
• Physics
• Science

Several photometric measurements of Venus made from the Pioneer Venus orbiter and probes indicate that solar near-ultraviolet radiation is being absorbed throughout much of the main cloud region, but little above the clouds or within the first one or two optical depths. Radiative transfer calculations were carried out to simulate both Pioneer Venus and ground-based data for a number of proposed cloud compositions. This comparison rules out models invoking nitrogen dioxide, meteoritic material, and volatile metals as the source of the ultraviolet absorption. Models involving either small (∼1 micrometer) or large (∼10 micrometers) sulfur particles have some serious difficulties, while ones invoking sulfur dioxide gas appear to be promising.