NASA has revealed that it captured a new and stunning image of Venus using the Parker Solar Probe from a distance of 7,693 kilometers. The spacecraft successfully completed its mission on Venus last Saturday, and this new image was taken on July 11, 2020, using the WISPR instrument onboard the spacecraft.
The Parker Probe captured images of the dark side of Venus, which initially appear to have dust or scratches on them. According to explanations, these faint white lines are a mix of sunlight reflected by space dust, solar radiation, and particles emitted from the spacecraft itself.
It is noted that each time the probe approaches Venus, the planet's gravity "bends" the spacecraft's orbit, pulling it closer to the Sun. The gravity of Venus also allows Parker to fly close to the Sun in its mission to study solar wind dynamics near its source.
Venus is the second planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and its thick atmosphere prevents us from getting a good look at its surface, but Parker has managed to achieve that. Notably, the NASA probe was launched in 2018 to study the Sun's outer layer and will meet Venus seven times during its seven-year mission.
