Magellan's Perspective View of Sedna Planitia, 45° N, 350° E

This perspective view of Venus, generated by computer from Magellan data and color-coded with emissivity, shows part of Sedna Planitia and illustrates a common phenomenon of the lowland plains of Venus: one of many overlapping lava flows that make up the plains has been deflected by low-relief hills. Differing radar brightness among the flows reflects mostly differences in roughness. In this area, the most recent lava flows characteristically have somewhat lower emissivities (indicated here by the green color) and higher SAR brightness than the ridges they embay. Fracture patterns typical of "tessera terrain" (a major component of Venusian highlands) can be seen on the ridge at the right. A 15-km impact crater at the right is surrounded by a dark splotch thought to have been formed by the transmission of shock energy to the surface by the atmosphere during the impact. Magellan MIDR quadrangle* containing this image: C1-45N350. Resolution of SAR image (m): 225. Size of region shown (E-W x N-S, in km): 540 x 540. Range of emissivities from violet to red: 0.80 -- 0.88. Vertical exaggeration: 200. Azimuth of viewpoint (deg clockwise from East): 140. Elevation of viewpoint (km): 275. *Quadrangle name indicates approximate center latitude (N=north, S=south) and center longitude (East).