These two infrared views of the South Pole of Venus were captured on consecutive days in April 2006 by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Venus Express spacecraft. The yellow area at the bottom of each image is the daylit side of the planet. The two "eyes" of the polar vortex appear as red blobs near the pole (at the center of each view); the blobs are connected by a "bridge" of warm (red) air in the lefthand image. Part of the cold collar that surrounds the polar vortices is visible in blue on the night side (upper half) of the image.
Image courtesy ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA.