Venus Near-Infrared Spectra: SCIAMACHY-Observations and Modeling

Kurzfassung

SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) onboard ENVISAT successfully captured visible and near-infrared spectra of sunlight scattered and reflected from Venus atmosphere. Observations took place in March, when SCIAMACHY captured light mainly from the limb of Venus, and in June 2009, when a larger fraction of the planetary disk was illuminated representing a nadir viewing. Venus spectra were simulated using a line-by-line radiative transfer model, which also takes into account single scattering from atmospheric particles and molecules. Comparing SCIAMACHY’s Venus observations with modeled spectra serves as a test for radiative transfer modeling of planetary atmospheres, an essential prerequisite for the search of living planets.