Venusian South Polar Vortex (2)

Original ESA caption:"Infrared images taken by the Ultraviolet-Visible-Near-Infrared spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board the spacecraft, not only provided the first clear view of the vortex, but also gave a much closer insight into it when Venus Express flew over the South Pole at the end of May 2006.
VIRTIS is an instrument that can operate at different wavelengths. Each infrared wavelength provides a view of the Venusian atmosphere at a different altitude, like a 'cross-section'.
"When we looked at this gigantic vortex at different depths, we realised how much its shape is varying over altitude", said Pierre Drossart, VIRTIS co-Principal Investigator, from the Observatoire de Paris, France.
"It is like if we were looking at different structures, rather than a single one.
And the new data we have just started gathering and analysing reveal even stronger differences".