On Oct. 7, 2014, and Nov. 2, 2016, the Japanese Himawari 8 and Himawari 9 Earth observation satellites were launched, respectively. Operated by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), the two satellites are primarily used to monitor typhoons, rainstorms, and other weather phenomena in the vicinity of Japan, East Asia, and the western Pacific. However, in a new study led by a team from the University of Tokyo, the two weather satellites were used to observe temperature changes on Venus — not Earth.
Using infrared imaging data collected by the two satellites over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025, the team estimated brightness temperatures on day-to-year scales. The results revealed temporal changes in Venus’ cloud-top temperatures, as well as previously unseen patterns in the planet’s atmospheric temperature structure.