Abstract

We have observed carbon monoxide in the stratosphere of Venus at phase angles of 180 and 120° via the J = 0 → 1 rotational transition at 115.2712 GHz. The mixing ratio profile of CO has been obtained by fitting the theoretical spectrum produced by a small number of layers with constant CO mixing ratio to the line profile, and the results suggest that the CO mixing ratio below the 1-mb level increased by at least a factor of 10 between 180 and 120° phase angles. The depletion of CO on the nightside of the planet was not anticipated and may require either a new loss mechanism for CO which can operate without sunlight or an increase in the amount of vertical mixing on the nightside.

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