This image, of the ‘eye of the hurricane’ on Venus was taken by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board Venus Express.

This picture shows a region in the venusian atmosphere about 60 km from the surface, at a wavelength of about 5 micrometres.

This image is taken 24 hours after the first of the series, or after one complete Venus Express orbit. Here the vortex has become more circular and less elongated.

The yellow dot in the image indicates the location of the south pole.