Strong Variability of the Modeled Venus NO Nightglow

Streel, N.; Lefèvre, F.; Martinez, A.; Määttänen, A.; Stolzenbach, A.; Lebonnois, S.; Gérard, Jean-Claude; Soret, Lauriane

doi:10.1029/2025je009316

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Strong Variability of the Modeled Venus NO Nightglow

Streel, N.; Lefèvre, F.; Martinez, A. et al.

2026 • In Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 131 (4)

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi Dataset

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/343969

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10.1029/2025je009316

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Keywords :

venus; model; GCM; atmopshere; nightglow; nitric oxide

Abstract :

[en] The ultraviolet nightglow of nitric oxide (NO) on Venus offers a unique window into the dynamics and chemistry of its upper atmosphere. We present three‐dimensional simulations of Venus' NO nightglow using a ground‐to‐thermosphere model, revealing a strong, short‐timescale variability consistent with observations. The Venus Planetary Climate Model accurately reproduces the altitude of peak emission at 115 km, matching SPICAV data, and shows an average peak brightness of 53 ± 33 kR, only 5% below the observed values. Crucially, the observed variability and morphology of the NO emission are tightly linked to atmospheric dynamics; its maxima strongly correlate with horizontal wind convergence, leading to localized subsidence. This downward transport is essential for delivering nitrogen atoms to fuel the nightglow, making it a critical tracer for understanding Venus's complex atmospheric circulation. Our findings underscore the importance of the NO nightglow as a powerful diagnostic for the solar‐to‐antisolar circulation on Venus.

Research Center/Unit :

STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège

Disciplines :

Space science, astronomy & astrophysics

Author, co-author :

Streel, N. ; LATMOS/IPSL Sorbonne Université UVSQ Université Paris‐Saclay CNRS Paris France ; Planetary Atmospheres Group, Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Daejeon South Korea

Lefèvre, F. ; LATMOS/IPSL Sorbonne Université UVSQ Université Paris‐Saclay CNRS Paris France

Martinez, A. ; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA‐CSIC) Granada Spain

Määttänen, A. ; LATMOS/IPSL Sorbonne Université UVSQ Université Paris‐Saclay CNRS Paris France

Stolzenbach, A. ; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA‐CSIC) Granada Spain

Lebonnois, S. ; LMD Sorbonne Université ENS Ecole Polytechnique CNRS Paris France

Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)

Soret, Lauriane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)

Language :

English

Title :

Strong Variability of the Modeled Venus NO Nightglow

Publication date :

April 2026

Journal title :

Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets

ISSN :

2169-9097

eISSN :

2169-9100

Publisher :

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Volume :

131

Issue :

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2025JE009316

Funders :

F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique
Junta de Andalucía

Data Set :

Streel, 2025

Dataset in support of paper "Strong variability of the modeled Venus NO nightglow"

Available on ORBi :

since 14 April 2026

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