Near infrared imaging spectroscopy of Venus with the Anglo-Australian Telescope

We have obtained full-disk spatially resolved spectra of the Venus nightside at near-infrared wavelengths during July 2007 using the Anglo-Australian Telescope and Infrared Imager and Spectrograph 2 (IRIS2). The data have been used to map the intensity and rotational temperature of the O2O2(a1Δg)(a1Δg) airglow band at 1.27μm. The temperatures agree with those obtained in earlier IRIS2 observations and are significantly higher than expected from the Venus International Reference Atmosphere (VIRA) profile. We also report the detection of the corresponding ν=0–1ν=0–1O2O2 airglow band at 1.58μm with a similar spatial distribution to the 1.27μmν=0–0ν=0–0 band. Observations in the 1.18μm thermal window have been used to image surface topography using two different methods of cloud correction. We have also obtained 2.3μm images that can be used to study cloud motion.