The Speed of the Wind

Since April 2006, the European Venus Express mission has been orbiting planet Venus, taking a wealth of data. In the mean time, observations from Earth based observatories complement the Venus Express data. The analysis of both these data give scientists a better insight into how Venus works.

This film records a telescopic observing session at the Observatoire de Haute Provence in the south of France. Prof. Jean-Loup Bertaux is measuring the winds on Venus and explains the what and why of his observations. As an extra he demonstrates the importance of coffee for astronomers.

[Lightcurve Films for Prof. Jean-Loup Bertaux / Service d’Aéronomie Paris du CNRS;  11:03 min..; Feb. 2008]