The northern hemisphere is displayed in this global view of the surface of Venus. The north pole is at the center of the image; with 0 degrees, 90 degrees , 180 degrees, 270 degrees east longitudes at 6, 3, 12 and 9 0'clock positions, repectively, of an imagery clock face. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magelolan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneere-Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 & 14 spacecraft.
Photographer JPL