Astronomers Find Planet-Wide Rings on Venus in 2010 Telescope Data
Updated
Updated · IFLScience · Jul 31
Astronomers Find Planet-Wide Rings on Venus in 2010 Telescope Data
1 articles · Updated · IFLScience · Jul 31
Summary
36 minutes of Venus observations taken in 2010 at the William Herschel Telescope have yielded evidence of planet-wide rings in the planet’s atmosphere.
Astronomers uncovered the feature only after revisiting the forgotten data, which had originally been captured while the team waited for sunset before observing dust disks around young stars.
The finding emerged from archival analysis rather than a new observing campaign, turning incidental images of Venus into a fresh atmospheric discovery.