The sharpest image ever taken of Venus.

From the Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki.

The dark side shines in the infrared, which is how this photo was taken.

  • @[email protected]
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    545 months ago

    It looks like one of those expensive bowling balls in the glass case next to the shoe rental counter.

    • @[email protected]
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      5 months ago

      My comrad in crisis, we can’t even keep this planet habitable, or build/select builders for reliable space vehicles after dropping billions of dollars on development and deployment. What makes you think we can even come close to the level of cooperation and competence needed to establish and maintain human habitation on such a hostile world?

      Let’s see if we can’t ensure continued habitation on Earth first. Then, maybe, we might have a chance on some other sphere?

      • @[email protected]
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        135 months ago

        I totally agree with you on that we should spend money on saving our perfectly fine and gorgeous planet instead of chasing useless dreams.

        But I’ve seen a video of Kurzgesagt explaining how “easy” it would be to terraform Venus compared to Mars. And since then I’ve been a defender of the idea that we should focus on Venus rather than Mars.

        Terrifying Fact: before Venus became the Hell it is today it was exactly like Earth. But at some point its average temperature reached 23°C. Water vapor being a greenhouse gas and a fantastic heat capacitor, it transformed the planet into a pressure cooker, leading to its current state

        The average temperature of planet Earth is 13°C, but with all the CO2 in the atmosphere we don’t know when that critical temperature could be reached.

        But hey, billionaires gotta get their billions, right?

      • @[email protected]
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        65 months ago

        I don’t disagree that we should focus on earth first, however - Tons of amazing technology has come out of funding for space-related activities, and I believe we should also continue working towards the goal of propagation of our species throughout the stars, if nothing more than for the potential of the incredibly useful technology that might come out of that pursuit.

  • classic
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    105 months ago

    How representative is this to what it would like to the human eye?

    • @[email protected]
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      345 months ago

      Well, this is the dark side as seen in infrared. If you were to stand at the same point in space and look at Venus the same way, you’d be dead.

      But seriously, your view would just be generally darkness. But with some heat vision goggles you could see it?

      • classic
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        25 months ago

        Ah, missed the part about it being the dark side. Just saw the pretty image

  • @morphballganon
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    45 months ago

    Imagine being immortal (no other powers) and falling into that

    Knowing you’ll never get out

      • @[email protected]
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        25 months ago

        Lacking the power of patience you went mad, to the point of not even realizing the planet fell apart. You continue to feel trapped.

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          If I can’t even patiently wait for an age to pass, I’m no immortal. I’d just be an ape that Death forgot to take.

    • @[email protected]
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      35 months ago

      One of the best Reddit posts even was on falling through the atmosphere of Jupiter in this fashion.

      Both witty and informative.