Takahashi Yukihiro, Sato Mitsuteru, Imai Masataka, Lorenz Ralph, Yair Yoav, Aplin Karen, Fischer Georg, Nakamura Masato, Ishii Nobuaki, Abe Takumi, Satoh Takehiko, Imamura Takeshi, Hirose Chikako, Suzuki Makoto, Hashimoto George L, Hirata Naru, Yamazaki Atsushi, Sato Takao M, Yamada Manabu, Murakami Shin-Ya, Yamamoto Yukio, Fukuhara Tetsuya, Ogohara Kazunori, Ando Hiroki, Sugiyama Ko-Ichiro, Kashimura Hiroki, Ohtsuki Shoko
1Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 Japan.
2Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 USA.
Earth Planets Space. 2018;70(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s40623-018-0836-2. Epub 2018 May 25.
The existence of lightning discharges in the Venus atmosphere has been controversial for more than 30 years, with many positive and negative reports published. The lightning and airglow camera (LAC) onboard the Venus orbiter, Akatsuki, was designed to observe the light curve of possible flashes at a sufficiently high sampling rate to discriminate lightning from other sources and can thereby perform a more definitive search for optical emissions. Akatsuki arrived at Venus during December 2016, 5 years following its launch. The initial operations of LAC through November 2016 have included a progressive increase in the high voltage applied to the avalanche photodiode detector. LAC began lightning survey observations in December 2016. It was confirmed that the operational high voltage was achieved and that the triggering system functions correctly. LAC lightning search observations are planned to continue for several years.
金星大气层中闪电放电现象的存在已经30多年来一直存在争议，期间发表了许多肯定和否定的报告。金星轨道探测器“破晓”号上搭载的闪电与气辉相机（LAC）旨在以足够高的采样率观测可能的闪光的光曲线，以便将闪电与其他光源区分开来，从而能够对光学发射进行更明确的搜索。“破晓”号于2016年12月抵达金星，这是其发射后的5年。截至2016年11月，LAC的初始操作包括逐步提高施加到雪崩光电二极管探测器上的高压。LAC于2016年12月开始进行闪电探测观测。已确认达到了工作高压，并且触发系统运行正常。LAC的闪电搜索观测计划持续数年。
