PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

PHOTO CAPTION

                                           Magellan
                                           P38723 MGN73
                                           October 21, 1991

A corona is displayed in this computer-simulated view of the
surface of Venus. The viewpoint is located 150 kilometers (93
miles) north of Gula Mons at a height of 1.6 kilometers (1 mile)
above the corona. The corona has a diameter of 97 kilometers (60
miles). The proposed name for the corona is Idem-Kuva, a Finno-
Ugraic harvest spirit. Lava flows extend for hundreds of
kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the background.
The viewpoint is to the north with Gula Mons to the south.
Magellan synthetic aperture radar data is combined with radar
altimetry to produce a three-dimensional map of the surface. Rays
cast in a computer intersect the surface to create a three-
dimensional perspective view. Simulated color and a digital
elevation map developed by the U.S. Geological Survey are used to
enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on
color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 124 spacecraft.
The image was produced at the JPL Multimission Image Processing
Laboratory and is a single frame from a video released at a March
5, l991, JPL news conference.