We present measurements of the wind speeds at the nightside lower clouds of Venus from observations by JAXA’s mission Akatsuki during 2016, complemented by new wind measurements from ground-based observations acquired with the TNG/Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer (NICS) in 2012 and IRTF/SpeX in 2015 and 2017. The zonal and meridional components of the winds were measured via cloud tracking on a total of 466 Akatsuki images of Venus acquired by the camera IR2 using the 2.26 μm filter, with spatial resolutions ranging from 10 to 80 km per pixel and covering 2016 March 22 to October 31. More than 149,000 wind vectors were obtained using an automatic template-matching technique, and 2947 wind vectors were inferred using a manual procedure. The meridional profiles for both components of the winds are found to be consistent with results from the Venus Express mission during 2006–2008, although stronger wind variability is found for the zonal component at equatorial latitudes where Akatsuki observations have better viewing geometry than Venus Express. The zonal winds at low latitudes also suggest a zonal variability that could be associated with solar tides or vertically propagating orographic waves. Finally, the combination of our wind measurements from TNG/NICS, IRTF/SpeX, and Akatsuki images with previously published data from 1978 to 2017 suggests variations of up to 30 m s⁻¹ in the winds at the nightside lower clouds of Venus.

Planetary‐scale waves are thought to play a role in powering the yet unexplained atmospheric superrotation of Venus. Puzzlingly, while Kelvin, Rossby, and stationary waves manifest at the upper clouds (65–70 km), no planetary‐scale waves or stationary patterns have been reported in the intervening level of the lower clouds (48–55 km), although the latter are probably Lee waves. Using observations by the Akatsuki orbiter and ground‐based telescopes, we show that the lower clouds follow a regular cycle punctuated between 30°N and 40°S by a sharp discontinuity or disruption with potential implications to Venus's general circulation and thermal structure. This disruption exhibits a westward rotation period of ∼4.9 days faster than winds at this level (∼6‐day period), alters clouds' properties and aerosols, and remains coherent during weeks. Past observations reveal its recurrent nature since at least 1983, and numerical simulations show that a nonlinear Kelvin wave reproduces many of its properties.

Even though many missions have explored the Venus atmospheric circulation, its instantaneous state is poorly characterized. In situ measurements vertically sampling the atmosphere exist for limited locations and dates, while remote sensing observations provide only global averages of winds at altitudes of the clouds: 47, 60, and 70 km. We present a three‐dimensional global view of Venus's atmospheric circulation from data obtained in June 2007 by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) and Venus Express spacecrafts, together with ground‐based observations. Winds and temperatures were measured for heights 47–110 km from multiwavelength images and spectra covering 40°N–80°S and local times 12 h–21 h. Dayside westward winds exhibit day‐to‐day changes, with maximum speeds ranging 97–143 m/s and peaking at variable altitudes within 75–90 km, while on the nightside these peak below cloud tops at ∼60 km. Our results support past reports of strong variability of the westward zonal superrotation in the transition region, and good agreement is found above the clouds with results from the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) Venus general circulation model.

Context. A stellar occultation by Neptune’s main satellite, Triton, was observed on 5 October 2017 from Europe, North Africa, and the USA. We derived 90 light curves from this event, 42 of which yielded a central flash detection. Aims. We aimed at constraining Triton’s atmospheric structure and the seasonal variations of its atmospheric pressure since the Voyager 2 epoch (1989). We also derived the shape of the lower atmosphere from central flash analysis. Methods. We used Abel inversions and direct ray-tracing code to provide the density, pressure, and temperature profiles in the altitude range ~8 km to ~190 km, corresponding to pressure levels from 9 µbar down to a few nanobars. Results. (i) A pressure of 1.18 ± 0.03 µbar is found at a reference radius of 1400 km (47 km altitude). (ii) A new analysis of the Voyager 2 radio science occultation shows that this is consistent with an extrapolation of pressure down to the surface pressure obtained in 1989. (iii) A survey of occultations obtained between 1989 and 2017 suggests that an enhancement in surface pressure as reported during the 1990s might be real, but debatable, due to very few high S/N light curves and data accessible for reanalysis. The volatile transport model analysed supports a moderate increase in surface pressure, with a maximum value around 2005-2015 no higher than 23 µbar. The pressures observed in 1995-1997 and 2017 appear mutually inconsistent with the volatile transport model presented here. (iv) The central flash structure does not show evidence of an atmospheric distortion. We find an upper limit of 0.0011 for the apparent oblateness of the atmosphere near the 8 km altitude.