Mariner 10's Venus
Date: 5 Feb 1974
Mariner 10 took this image of Venus as it flew past the inner planet. Made using an ultraviolet filter in its imaging system, this photo has been color-enhanced to bring out Venus's cloudy atmosphere as the human eye would see it.
Venus is perpetually blanketed by a thick veil of clouds high in carbon dioxide. Its surface temperature approaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 degrees Celsius).
Launched on 3 Nov. 1973 atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket, Mariner 10 flew by Venus in 1974.