Deep in the gaseous jungles on Venus, a rare event has been captured through the magic of technology. Seen only when no one is looking, the blooming of the Venusian Fireflower lasts about 5-10 seconds and typically consists of a rapid expansion of the flower buds to the point where they burst open with a match-like flaring. They then glow for a few more seconds before exhaustion and quickly revert to the greenish colors of the surrounding landscape and atmosphere.
In this image, the upper flower is about to bloom and we would have liked to have captured it as well but the battery died and we lost radio contact with the remote camera. NASA says we should have used lithium 'AA's. We will naturally take their advice but the next mission will be very dependent on government grants... and the timing of Canon's next rebate promotion.