A New Analysis of the Spectra Obtained by the Venera Missions in the Venusian Atmosphere. I. The Analysis of the Data Received from the Venera-11 Probe at Altitudes Below 37 km in the 0.44–0.66 µm Wavelength Range

The processes of the solar radiation extinction in deep layers of the Venus atmosphere in a wavelength range from 0.44 to 0.66 µm have been considered. The spectra of the solar radiation scattered in the atmosphere of Venus at various altitudes above the planetary surface measured by the Venera-11 entry probe in December 1978 are used as observational data. The problem of the data analysis is solved by selecting an atmospheric model; the discrete-ordinate method is applied in calculations. For the altitude interval from 2–10 km to 36 km, the altitude and spectral dependencies of the volume coefficient of true absorption have been obtained. At altitudes of 3–19 km, the spectral dependence is close to the wavelength dependence of the absorption cross section of S₃ molecules, whence it follows that the mixing ratio of this sulfur allotrope increases with altitude from 0.03 to 0.1 ppbv.__________Translated from Astronomicheskii Vestnik, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2005, pp. 304–320.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Maiorov, Ignat’ev, Moroz, Zasova, Moshkin, Khatuntsev, Ekonomov.