Venus. Astronomers often refer to it as "Sister Earth" because of the similar composition, gravity, and size of the planets. However, the rest of the parameters are completely opposite. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, it is the hottest planet in the solar system, but more about everything.

The history of the discovery of the planet

Due to its proximity to the Sun and Earth, Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, so mankind knew about its existence at the dawn of civilization. The first observations of the planet, and we can say the official proof of its existence, were made by Galileo Galilei in 1610.

10 things you need to know about Venus!

1. Venus is the second planet from the Sun in the solar system.
2. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, although it is the second planet from the sun. Surface temperature can reach 475°C .
   
3. The first spacecraft sent to explore Venus was launched from Earth on February 12, 1961 and was called Venera 1.
4. Venus is one of two planets that has a different direction of rotation than most planets in the solar system.
5. The orbit of the planet around the Sun is very close to circular.
6. The day and night temperatures of the surface of Venus are practically the same due to the large thermal inertia of the atmosphere.
7. Venus makes one revolution around the Sun in 225 Earth days, and one revolution around its axis in 243 Earth days, that is, one day on Venus lasts more than one year.
8. The first telescope observations of Venus were made by Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.
9. Venus has no natural satellites.
10. Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, after the Sun and Moon.

Astronomical characteristics

Aphelion

The meaning of the name of the planet Venus

Venus, like most other planets, got its name in the days of Ancient Rome. Because of her beauty and brightness in the starry sky, she was honored with the name of the eternally young and shy goddess of love - Venus.

Physical characteristics of Venus

Rings and satellites

In the 17th and 18th centuries, due to the imperfection of observational equipment, various astronomers put forward assumptions about the presence of satellites around Venus. However, scientific studies of spacecraft and powerful ground-based telescopes have shown that there are no satellites or rings around Venus.

Planet Features

Venus and the Earth are close in size, mass, density of the material that makes up the average distance from the Sun, but this is where their similarities end.

Venus is covered in a thick layer of rapidly collapsing atmosphere, creating a scorched world at a temperature sufficient to melt lead and a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth. Due to its proximity to the Earth, as well as the very high ability of clouds to reflect sunlight, Venus is the brightest planet in the sky.

Like Mercury, Venus can be observed during periodic passage against the background of the Sun. These transits occur in pairs, with an interval of about 100 years. Since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have been able to observe transits in 1631 and 1639; 1761, 1769; 1874, 1882. The last observed pair of transits occurred not so long ago - June 8, 2004 and June 6, 2012. Unfortunately, those who did not have time to look at Venus four years ago will have to wait another hundred years or so, as the next pair of transits will occur in 2117 and 2125.

The atmosphere of Venus is composed mainly of carbon dioxide, and the clouds are composed of droplets of sulfuric acid. The presence of water in the planet's atmosphere has also been confirmed, but in very small quantities. The planet's thick atmosphere absorbs solar heat and does not let it out, as a result of which the planet's surface heats up to very high temperatures - about 470 ° C. Research probes that landed on the surface of Venus could not be in working order for more than a few hours, after which they collapsed due to high temperature and pressure.

One year on Venus lasts about 225 Earth days, while the full period of revolution of the planet around itself lasts about 243 Earth days, which makes a day on Venus incredibly long in time and is 117 days. Venus is one of two planets in the solar system (the other being Uranus) that rotates on its axis in the opposite direction to that of the other planets. If you were to visit Venus, you would see the Sun rise in the west and set in the east.

While the planet is moving along its solar orbit, slowly rotating around its axis in the opposite direction, in its atmosphere, the atmosphere is already moving in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation around its axis at an incredible speed, revolving around the planet every four days. What is the source of such powerful hurricanes in the planet's atmosphere is still a mystery to scientists.

About 90% of the surface of Venus is covered with a layer of basaltic lava. Some scientists suggest that volcanic activity on the planet is still ongoing, but no evidence has been found in favor of this theory. The low number of impact craters indicates a rather young surface of the planet - approximately 500 million years.

The surface of Venus is dotted with over a thousand volcanoes or volcanic centers with diameters over 20 kilometers. Volcanic lava flows have created long, winding channels that stretch for hundreds of kilometers.

Venus has two large high-altitude regions: "Land of Ishtar", located in the northern polar region of the planet and comparable in size to Australia, and "Land of Aphrodite", located along the equator, a mountain range more than 10,000 kilometers long. Mount Maxwell, the highest mountain on Venus, comparable in size to the earth's Everest and located on the eastern edge of the "Land of Ishtar".

Venus has an iron core with a radius of about 3,000 kilometers, then a mantle about 3,300 kilometers wide, and a crust of the planet about 16 kilometers thick. The planet does not have a magnetic field, from which scientists concluded that there is no movement of charged particles in the iron core - an electric current, the flow of which causes the formation of a magnetic field. Therefore, the core is in a solid state.

planetary atmosphere

The first evidence of the existence of an atmosphere on Venus was obtained by the Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761 during the observation of the transit of the planet against the background of the Sun. However, its composition, density and other characteristics were studied much later.

The main component of the atmosphere of Venus, extending to a height of up to 250 kilometers, is carbon dioxide. Its percentage is about 96%. Compared to Earth, Venus contains 105 times more gas in its atmosphere than Earth's. This led to the fact that the pressure at the surface of the planet reaches 93 atmospheres, and such a high content of carbon dioxide led to the appearance of a greenhouse effect, as a result of which the temperature on the surface of the planet reaches 475 ° C. .

The composition of the cloud cover is currently not fully understood, but scientists suggest that it may consist of droplets of sulfuric acid and various compounds of chlorine and sulfur.

One of the amazing features of the atmosphere of Venus is its speed around the planet, which is about 60 times greater than the speed of rotation of the planet itself around its axis. Scientists are at a loss as to what is the driving force behind the generation and maintenance of such a gigantic planetary hurricane.

In addition to strong winds, the Venera-2 research apparatus on the planet recorded lightning strikes twice as often as on Earth. Their source is not water, as on other planets of the solar system, but droplets of sulfuric acid, which make up the cloud cover of the planet.

Useful articles that will answer most interesting questions about Venus.

deep sky objects

And the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Sometimes this planet is called sister of the earth, which is associated with a certain similarity in mass and size. The surface of Venus is covered with a completely impenetrable layer of clouds, the main component of which is sulfuric acid.

naming Venus the planet received in honor of the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Even in the time of the ancient Romans, people already knew that this Venus is one of four planets that differ from the Earth. It was the planet's highest brightness, the visibility of Venus, that played a role in her being named after the goddess of love, and this allowed for years to associate the planet with love, femininity and romance.

For a long time it was believed that Venus and Earth are twin planets. The reason for this was their similarity in size, density, mass and volume. However, later scientists found that despite the obvious similarity of these planetary characteristics, the planets are very different from each other. We are talking about such parameters as the atmosphere, rotation, surface temperature and the presence of satellites (Venus does not have them).

As in the case of Mercury, human knowledge of Venus increased significantly in the second half of the twentieth century. Before the US and Soviet Union began organizing their missions in the 1960s, there was still hope for scientists that the conditions beneath Venus' incredibly dense clouds might be habitable. But the data collected as a result of these missions proved the opposite - the conditions on Venus are too harsh for the existence of living organisms on its surface.

A significant contribution to the study of both the atmosphere and the surface of Venus was made by the USSR mission of the same name. The first spacecraft sent to the planet and flying past the planet was Venera-1, developed by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Koroleva (today NPO Energia). Despite the fact that communication with this ship, as well as with several other mission vehicles, was lost, there were those that were able not only to study the chemical composition of the atmosphere, but even reach the surface itself.

The first ship, launched on June 12, 1967, which was able to conduct atmospheric research was Venera-4. The spacecraft's descent module was literally crushed by the pressure in the planet's atmosphere, but the orbital module managed to make a number of valuable observations and obtain the first data on Venus's temperature, density, and chemical composition. The mission made it possible to determine that the planet's atmosphere consists of 90% carbon dioxide with a small amount of oxygen and water vapor.

The instruments of the orbiter indicated that Venus has no radiation belts, and the magnetic field is 3000 times weaker than the Earth's magnetic field. An indicator of solar ultraviolet radiation aboard the ship made it possible to reveal the hydrogen corona of Venus, the hydrogen content in which was about 1000 times less than in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere. The data were further confirmed by the Venera-5 and Venera-6 missions.

Thanks to these and subsequent studies, today scientists can distinguish two wide layers in the atmosphere of Venus. The first and main layer is clouds that cover the entire planet with an impenetrable sphere. The second is everything below these clouds. The clouds surrounding Venus extend from 50 to 80 kilometers above the planet's surface and are composed primarily of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). These clouds are so dense that they reflect 60% of all the sunlight that Venus receives back into space.

The second layer, which is below the clouds, has two main functions: density and composition. The combined effect of these two functions on the planet is enormous - it makes Venus the hottest and least hospitable of all the planets in the solar system. Due to the greenhouse effect, the temperature of the layer can reach 480 ° C., which allows heating the surface of Venus to the maximum temperatures in our system.

Clouds of Venus

Based on observations by the Venus Express satellite, which is overseen by the European Space Agency (ESA), scientists have for the first time been able to show how the weather conditions in the thick layers of clouds of Venus are related to the topography of its surface. It turned out that the clouds of Venus can not only interfere with the observation of the surface of the planet, but also give clues about what exactly is located on it.

It is believed that Venus is very hot due to the incredible greenhouse effect, which heats its surface to temperatures of 450 degrees Celsius. The climate on the surface is depressing, and it itself is very dimly lit, as it is covered by an incredibly thick layer of clouds. At the same time, the wind that is present on the planet has a speed not exceeding the speed of an easy run - 1 meter per second.

However, when viewed from afar, the planet, which is also called Earth's sister, looks very different - the planet is surrounded by smooth, bright clouds. These clouds form a thick layer twenty kilometers above the surface and thus much colder than the surface itself. The typical temperature of this layer is about -70 degrees Celsius, which is comparable to the temperatures found on Earth's cloud tops. In the upper layer of the cloud, weather conditions are much more extreme, with winds hundreds of times faster than on the surface and even faster than Venus' rotational speed.

With the help of Venus Express observations, scientists have been able to significantly improve the climate map of Venus. They were able to single out three aspects of the planet's cloudy weather at once: how fast the winds on Venus are able to circulate, how much water is contained in the clouds, and how bright these clouds are distributed across the spectrum (in ultraviolet light).

“Our results have shown that all of these aspects: wind, water content and cloud composition are somehow related to the properties of the surface of Venus,” said Jean-Loup Berteau of the LATMOS observatory in France, lead author of the new Venus Express study. "We used spacecraft observations that cover a period of six years, from 2006 to 2012, and this allowed us to study patterns of long-term weather changes on the planet."

Surface of Venus

Before the radar studies of the planet, the most valuable data on the surface were obtained using the same Soviet space program "Venus". The first vehicle to make a soft landing on the surface of Venus was the Venera 7 space probe, launched on August 17, 1970.

Despite the fact that even before landing, many of the ship's instruments had already failed, he was able to detect pressure and temperature indicators on the surface, which amounted to 90 ± 15 atmospheres and 475 ± 20 ° C.

1 - descent vehicle;
2 - solar panels;
3 – celestial orientation sensor;
4 - protective panel;
5 - corrective propulsion system;
6 - manifolds of the pneumatic system with control nozzles;
7 – cosmic particle counter;
8 - orbital compartment;
9 - radiator-cooler;
10 - low-directional antenna;
11 - highly directional antenna;
12 - pneumatic system automation unit;
13 - cylinder of compressed nitrogen

The subsequent Venera-8 mission turned out to be even more successful - it was possible to obtain the first samples of the surface soil. Thanks to the gamma spectrometer installed on the ship, it was possible to determine the content of radioactive elements in the rocks, such as potassium, uranium, and thorium. It turned out that the soil of Venus resembles terrestrial rocks in its composition.

The first black-and-white photographs of the surface were taken by the Venera-9 and Venera-10 probes, which were launched almost one after the other and made a soft landing on the planet's surface on October 22 and 25, 1975, respectively.

After that, the first radar data of the Venusian surface were obtained. The pictures were taken in 1978, when the first of the American spacecraft Pioneer Venus arrived in orbit around the planet. The maps created from the images showed that the surface consists mainly of plains, which are caused by powerful lava flows, as well as two mountainous regions, called Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite. The data were subsequently confirmed by the Venera 15 and Venera 16 missions, which mapped the northern hemisphere of the planet.

The first color images of the surface of Venus and even a sound recording were obtained using the Venera-13 descent module. The module's camera took 14 color and 8 black and white photographs of the surface. Also, for the first time, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to analyze soil samples, thanks to which it was possible to identify the priority rock at the landing site - leucite alkaline basalt. The average surface temperature during module operation was 466.85 °C and the pressure was 95.6 bar.

The module of the Venera-14 spacecraft launched after it was able to transmit the first panoramic images of the planet's surface:

Despite the fact that the photographic images of the planet's surface obtained with the help of the Venus space program are still the only and unique ones, they represent the most valuable scientific material, these photographs could not give a large-scale idea of ​​the planet's topography. After analyzing the results obtained, the space powers focused on the radar research of Venus.

In 1990, a spacecraft called Magellan began its work in the orbit of Venus. He managed to take better radar images, which turned out to be much more detailed and informative. So, for example, it turned out that out of 1000 impact craters that Magellan discovered, none of them exceeded two kilometers in diameter. This led scientists to believe that any meteorite less than two kilometers in diameter simply burned up when passing through the dense Venusian atmosphere.

Because of the thick clouds that surround Venus, the details of its surface cannot be seen using simple photographic means. Fortunately, scientists were able to use the radar method to obtain the necessary information.

Although both photographic tools and radar work by collecting radiation that is reflected from an object, there is a big difference between them and that lies in reflecting forms of radiation. Photo captures visible light radiation, while radar mapping reflects microwave radiation. The advantage of using radar in the case of Venus proved to be clear, as microwave radiation can pass through the planet's thick clouds, while the light needed for photography is unable to do so.

Thus, additional studies of the size of the craters have helped shed light on factors that speak to the age of the planet's surface. It turned out that small impact craters are practically absent on the surface of the planet, but there are no large-diameter craters either. This led scientists to believe that the surface was formed after a period of heavy bombardment, between 3.8 and 4.5 billion years ago, when a large number of impact craters formed on the inner planets. This indicates that the surface of Venus has a relatively young geological age.

The study of the planet's volcanic activity revealed even more characteristic features of the surface.

The first feature is the huge plains described above, created by lava flows in the past. These plains cover about 80% of the entire Venusian surface. The second characteristic feature is volcanic formations, which are very numerous and varied. In addition to the shield volcanoes that exist on Earth (for example, Mauna Loa), many flat volcanoes have been discovered on Venus. These volcanoes are different from Earth volcanoes in that they have a distinctive flat disk-shaped shape due to the fact that all the lava contained in the volcano erupted at once. After such an eruption, the lava comes out in a single stream, spreading in a circular fashion.

Geology of Venus

As with other terrestrial planets, Venus is essentially made up of three layers: crust, mantle, and core. However, there is something that is very intriguing - the bowels of Venus (unlike or) are very similar to the bowels of the Earth. Due to the fact that it is not yet possible to compare the true composition of the two planets, such conclusions were made based on their characteristics. At the moment, it is believed that the crust of Venus has a thickness of 50 kilometers, the thickness of the mantle is 3,000 kilometers, and the core has a diameter of 6,000 kilometers.

In addition, scientists still do not have an answer to the question of whether the core of the planet is liquid or is it a solid body. All that remains is, in view of the similarity of the two planets, to assume that it is as liquid as that of the Earth.

However, some studies indicate that the core of Venus is solid. To prove this theory, the researchers cite the fact that the planet lacks a magnetic field. Simply put, planetary magnetic fields are the result of the transfer of heat from inside the planet to its surface, and the liquid core is a necessary component of this transfer. The insufficient strength of the magnetic fields, according to this concept, indicates that the existence of a liquid core in Venus is simply impossible.

Orbit and rotation of Venus

The most notable aspect of Venus's orbit is its uniformity in distance from the Sun. The eccentricity of the orbit is only .00678, that is, the orbit of Venus is the most circular of all the planets. Moreover, such a small eccentricity indicates that the difference between the perihelion of Venus (1.09 x 10 8 km.) And its aphelion (1.09 x 10 8 km.) is only 1.46 x 10 6 kilometers.

Information about the rotation of Venus, as well as data on its surface, remained a mystery until the second half of the twentieth century, when the first radar data were obtained. It turned out that the rotation of the planet around its axis is counterclockwise when viewed from the "upper" plane of the orbit, but in fact, the rotation of Venus is retrograde or clockwise. The reason for this is currently unknown, but there are two popular theories to explain the phenomenon. The first one points to the 3:2 spin-orbit resonance of Venus with the Earth. Proponents of the theory believe that over billions of years, the force of gravity of the Earth changed the rotation of Venus to its current state.

Proponents of another concept doubt that the Earth's gravitational force was strong enough to change the rotation of Venus in such a fundamental way. Instead, they refer to the early period of the solar system, when the formation of the planets took place. According to this view, the original rotation of Venus was similar to the rotation of other planets, but was changed to the current orientation when the young planet collided with a large planetesimal. The impact was so powerful that it turned the planet upside down.

The second unexpected discovery related to the rotation of Venus is its speed.

In order to make a full rotation around its axis, the planet takes about 243 Earth days, that is, a day on Venus is longer than on any other planet and a day on Venus is comparable to a year on Earth. But even more scientists were struck by the fact that a year on Venus is almost 19 Earth days less than one day of Venus. Again, no other planet in the solar system has such properties. Scientists associate this feature just with the reverse rotation of the planet, the features of the study of which were described above.

• Venus is the third brightest natural object in the Earth's sky after the Moon and the Sun. The planet has a visual magnitude of -3.8 to -4.6, making it visible even on a clear day.
  Venus is sometimes called the "morning star" and "evening star". This is due to the fact that representatives of ancient civilizations took this planet for two different stars, depending on the time of day.
  One day on Venus is longer than one year. Due to the slow rotation around its axis, a day lasts 243 Earth days. A revolution in the orbit of the planet takes 225 Earth days.
  Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is believed that the ancient Romans named her so because of the high brightness of the planet, which in turn could come from the time of Babylon, whose inhabitants called Venus "the bright queen of the sky."
  Venus has no moons or rings.
  Billions of years ago, Venus' climate could have been similar to Earth's. Scientists believe that Venus once had a lot of water and oceans, but due to high temperatures and the greenhouse effect, the water has boiled away, and the surface of the planet is currently too hot and hostile to support life.
  Venus rotates in the opposite direction to the other planets. Most of the other planets rotate counterclockwise around their axis, but Venus, like Venus, rotates clockwise. This is known as retrograde rotation and may have been caused by a collision with an asteroid or other space object that changed the direction of her rotation.
  Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system with an average surface temperature of 462°C. Also, Venus has no axial tilt, which means there are no seasons on the planet. The atmosphere is very dense and contains 96.5% carbon dioxide, which traps heat and causes the greenhouse effect that vaporized water sources billions of years ago.
  The temperature on Venus practically does not change with the change of day and night. This is due to the too slow movement of the solar wind over the entire surface of the planet.
  The age of the Venusian surface is about 300-400 million years. (The Earth's surface is about 100 million years old).
  The atmospheric pressure of Venus is 92 times stronger than on Earth. This means that any small asteroids entering Venus' atmosphere will be crushed by the enormous pressure. This explains the lack of small craters on the surface of the planet. This pressure is equivalent to the pressure at a depth of about 1000 km. in the oceans of the earth.

Venus has a very weak magnetic field. This surprised scientists, who had expected Venus to have a magnetic field similar in strength to Earth's. One possible reason for this is that Venus has a solid inner core, or that it is not cooling.
Venus is the only planet in the solar system named after a woman.
Venus is the closest planet to Earth. The distance from our planet to Venus is 41 million kilometers.

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Venus is the second planet from the Sun, the closest planet to Earth, and the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. Sometimes this planet is called the sister of the Earth, which is associated with a certain similarity in mass and size. The difference between the diameters of the Earth and Venus is 638 km, and the mass of Venus reaches 81.5% of the Earth's. The planet Venus is covered by an impenetrable layer of clouds filled mostly with sulfuric acid.

The planet received this well-known name in honor of the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet Venus in the sky is very noticeable due to its high brightness, so it was noticed a long time ago. Most likely, the brightness and visibility of Venus played a role in the fact that she was named after the goddess of love. So she is associated with love, femininity and romance.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, but the hottest planet in the solar system.

The length of a day on Venus, i.e. one full rotation around its axis, lasts longer than one Venusian year. One axial revolution of the planet occurs in 244 days, and the orbital path (year) takes 225 days.

Atmospheric pressure is 92 times greater than on Earth.

Venus exploration

Several spaceships have already flown to Venus. The first of them "Venus-1" only flew past Venus. Venera-1 is a Russian ship, was developed by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Koroleva (today NPO Energia). The Venera 1 flight was unsuccessful because communication with the ship was lost. There were other unsuccessful flights. But there were also such ships that could not only study the chemical composition of the atmosphere, but even reach the surface itself.

The first ship that was able to conduct atmospheric research was Venera-4. It was launched on June 12, 1967. The mission of Venera-4 was short - the descent vehicle was literally crushed by pressure in the planet's atmosphere, but the orbital module managed to make a number of valuable observations and obtain the first data on Venus. This expedition made it possible to determine that the planet's atmosphere consists of 90% carbon dioxide with a small amount of oxygen and water vapor.

Atmosphere of Venus

The atmosphere of the planet Venus is divided into several altitude layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere. Above 700 km from the surface, the corona of Venus begins, which consists only of hydrogen and smoothly passes into interplanetary space.

The stratosphere occupies space at an altitude of 70 to 90 km. She's pretty shabby.

At an altitude of 50-70 km, the main cloud layer is located, which covers the entire planet with an impenetrable sphere.

At 30-50 km - sub-block haze.

The opacity of the atmosphere of Venus is explained not so much by the mass or very high density of the gaseous envelope, but mainly by the constantly closed layer of clouds. The main component of the cloud layer are droplets of sulfuric acid, the content of which reaches approximately 75 mass percent. In addition, chlorine- and phosphorus-containing aerosols are also present here. The lower of the three cloud layers may also contain elemental sulfur impurities.

Larger droplets of sulfuric acid fall as rain, short of reaching the lower edge of the cloud layer, where they evaporate under the influence of high temperatures and then break down into sulfur dioxide, water vapor and oxygen. After these gases rise to the uppermost layers of the clouds, they react and condense again in the form of sulfuric acid. Sulfur in clouds originally appeared in the form of sulfur dioxide during volcanic eruptions.

Clouds that surround Venus from 50 to 80 kilometers above the planet's surface and consist mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). These clouds are so dense that they reflect back into space 60% of the Sun's light that hits Venus.

A greenhouse effect is created, and the temperature of the layer can reach 480 ° C., which allows heating the surface of Venus to the maximum temperatures in our system.

The pressure of the atmosphere near the surface of Venus is 90 times greater than on Earth. Therefore, for a long time it was not possible to bring the descent vehicle to the surface of the planet - they were crushed by monstrous pressure.

But people sent all new devices

The Mariner 10 spacecraft flew to Venus at an altitude of 4000 km in 1967. He received information about the pressure, atmospheric density and composition of the planet.

In 1969, the Soviet Venera 5 and 6 also arrived, which managed to transmit data in 50 minutes of descent. But Soviet scientists did not give up. Venera-7 crashed on the surface, but transmitted 23 minutes of information.

From 1972-1975 The USSR launched three more probes, which managed to get the first pictures of the surface.

Over 4000 shots on the way to Mercury received Mariner-10. In the late 1970s, NASA prepared two probes. One of them was supposed to study the atmosphere and create a surface map, and the second to enter the atmosphere.

In 1985, the Vega program was launched, where the devices were supposed to explore Halley's comet and go to Venus. They dropped the probes, but the atmosphere turned out to be more turbulent and the mechanisms were blown away by powerful winds.

In 1989, Magellan went to Venus with his radar. He spent 4.5 years in orbit and displayed 98% of the surface and 95% of the gravitational field. In the end, it was sent into the atmosphere, where it burned up, but received density data.

Venus was observed fleetingly by Galileo and Cassini. And in 2007 they sent MESSENGER, which was able to make some measurements on the way to Mercury. The atmosphere and clouds were also monitored by the Venus Express probe in 2006. The mission ended in 2014.

Geology of Venus

Like other terrestrial planets, the planet Venus consists of three layers: crust, mantle and core. It is believed that the interior of Venus (unlike Mercury or Mars) is very similar to the interior of the Earth. Due to the fact that it is not yet possible to compare full-fledged geological studies (field work, so to speak), the true composition of the planet's layers has not yet been established. At the moment, it is believed that the crust of Venus has a thickness of 50 kilometers, the thickness of the mantle is 3,000 kilometers, and the core has a diameter of 6,000 kilometers.

Among the Slavs, Venus was called Zarya-Flicker

However, some studies indicate that the core of Venus is solid. To prove this theory, the researchers cite the fact that the planet lacks a magnetic field. Simply put, planetary magnetic fields are the result of the transfer of heat from inside the planet to its surface, and the liquid core is a necessary component of this transfer. The insufficient strength of the magnetic fields, according to this concept, indicates that the existence of a liquid core in Venus is simply impossible.

Orbit and rotation of Venus

The most notable aspect of Venus's orbit is its uniformity in distance from the Sun. The orbital eccentricity is only .00678, i.e. orbit Venus is the most round from all the planets in the solar system. Moreover, such a small eccentricity indicates that the difference between the perihelion of Venus (1.09 x 10 8 km.) And its aphelion (1.09 x 10 8 km.) is only 1.46 x 10 6 kilometers.

Information about the rotation of Venus, as well as data on its surface, remained a mystery until the second half of the twentieth century, when the first radar data were obtained. It turned out that the rotation of the planet around its axis is counterclockwise when viewed from the "upper" plane of the orbit, but in fact, the rotation of Venus is retrograde or clockwise. The reason for this is currently unknown.

Billions of years ago, Venus' climate could have been similar to Earth's. Scientists believe that Venus once had a lot of water and oceans, but due to high temperatures and the greenhouse effect, the water has boiled away, and the surface of the planet is currently too hot and hostile to support life.

Characteristics of Venus briefly

Weight: 4.87 * 10-24 kg (0.815 Earth)
Diameter at equator: 12102 km
Axis Tilt: 177.36°
Density: 5.24 g/cm3
Average surface temperature: +465 °C
Period of revolution around the axis (day): 244 days (retrograde)
Distance from the Sun (average): 0.72 AU e. or 108 million km
Orbital period around the Sun (year): 225 days
Orbital speed: 35 km/s
Orbital eccentricity: e = 0.0068
Orbital inclination to the ecliptic: i = 3.86°
Free fall acceleration: 8.87m/s2
Atmosphere: carbon dioxide (96%), nitrogen (3.4%)
Satellites: no

Orbit parameters, observation.

© Vladimir Kalanov,
website"Knowledge is power".

Introduction

Venus is almost the same size and mass as Earth. Even his contemporaries discovered that Venus had an atmosphere. Lomonosov correctly believed that the atmosphere of Venus is denser than that of the earth.

Planet Venus

In its philosophical significance, this discovery is equivalent to the discovery by Galileo of an earth-like relief near the surface of the moon. Lomonosov made this discovery on June 24, 1761, during the passage of Venus across the solar disk. In anticipation of a rare phenomenon, many telescopes were aimed at the solar disk. It was necessary to catch the moments of contacts between the disks of the planet and the Sun. This made it possible to determine the distance to the Sun. When Venus entered the disk of the Sun, Lomonosov noted a slight fogging of the solar edge; when the planet approached the other edge of the disk, a bulge (“bump”) first appeared on it, and then a “cut”. Many astronomers noted the same phenomena, but Lomonosov was the first to explain them. “According to these notes,” he wrote, “the planet Venus is surrounded by a noble air atmosphere, such (if only not more) that pours around our globe.” In 1769, the English astronomer N. Maskelyne, and later others (W. Herschel, I. Schroeter), gave a similar explanation to the described phenomenon.

Orbit of Venus. The main parameters of the orbit.

The orbit of Venus is closer to the Sun than the orbit of the Earth. When it is on the opposite side, its entire disk is illuminated, and when it is located between the Earth and the Sun, we see only part of the hemisphere illuminated by the Sun. For this reason, Venus, like Mercury and Moon, there are different phases depending on its location in orbit.

Venus has an almost circular orbit, which it bypasses in 225 Earth days at a distance of 108.2 million km from the Sun (0.7233 AU). Venus rotates around its axis in 243 Earth days (sidereal circular period - 243.01 days) - the maximum time among all the planets of the solar system. Venus rotates in the opposite direction around its axis, that is, in the direction opposite to the orbit. If we adhere to the generally accepted theory of the formation of the planets of the solar system, one should expect the rotation of all planets in one direction both in orbits and around their axes. Existing exceptions (the orbits of Venus and Uranus) can be explained by the collisions of these planets in the early stages of formation with large celestial bodies. It is assumed that large-scale catastrophic collisions of celestial bodies could lead to changes in the orientation of the axis of rotation of these planets.
This slow and reverse rotation of the planet Venus means that, as seen from Venus, the Sun rises and sets only twice a year, since the Venusian days are equal to 117 of ours.
Venus approaches the Earth at a distance of 40 million km - closer than any other planet. Venus is only slightly smaller than the Earth, and its mass is close to that of the Earth. For these reasons, Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth's twin or sister. However, the surface and atmosphere of these two planets are completely different. Earth has rivers, lakes, oceans, and a breathable atmosphere. Venus is a scalding hot planet with a dense atmosphere that would be fatal to humans.
The average circulation speed is approximately 35.03 km / s (according to J. Kelly Beatty and Andrew Chaikin, Cambridge University Press and Sky Publishing Corp., 1990 © Sky Publishing Corp.).
The orbital plane of Venus deviates by 3.394° with respect to the ecliptic. And when a planet passes between the Earth and the Sun, it is either north or south of the Sun.
The axis of rotation of Venus is almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, so that the northern and southern hemispheres of the planet are always illuminated by the Sun in the same way, i.e. There are no seasons on Venus.

Venus transits

The orbit of Venus is much longer and therefore its transits are less frequent. On average - twice a century with an interval between them of about 8 years. That is why, since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have been able to observe the transits of Venus only 7 times: in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, 2004. Transits of Venus are possible only in early December and in June, when one of the nodes of the planet's orbit is in front of the Sun. And this happens with a frequency of 8 and 121.5 years for one node and 8 and 105.5 years for another. The nearest transit took place on June 6, 2012. Transits, like total solar eclipses, are local phenomena, that is, they are visible only in some areas of the Earth.

Observation of Venus

Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon and therefore Venus can be found even during the day. Venus is usually seen in the evening after sunset or in the morning before sunrise against the backdrop of dawn.

Finding Venus in the sky is easier than any other planet. Since the orbit of Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth's, Venus never moves far from the Sun in our sky. Every seven months, for several weeks, Venus is the brightest object in the western sky in the evening. Therefore, during this period it is also called the "evening star". During these periods, the apparent brightness of Venus is 20 times greater than the brightness of Sirius, the brightest star in the northern sky. Three and a half months later, Venus rises three hours before the Sun, becoming the brilliant "morning star" of the eastern sky. Venus can be observed about an hour after sunset or an hour before sunrise. The maximum angle between Venus and the Sun never exceeds 47°. The two points in the orbit at which the angle reaches this value are called the greatest eastern and greatest western elongations. Unless the sky is clear, Venus cannot be missed for two or three weeks near these points. It is easy to see that Venus, like the Moon, has phases. At its points of greatest elongation, the planet looks like a tiny moon in its half-disk phase. As Venus approaches the Earth, its apparent size increases slightly every day, and its shape gradually changes to a narrow crescent. But no features of the planet's surface can be seen due to dense clouds.

The story about Venus for children contains information about the temperature on Venus, about its satellites and features. You can supplement the message about Venus with interesting facts.

A short message about Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It bears the name of the ancient Roman goddess of love. Due to its bright radiance, it is clearly visible even to the naked eye. In ancient times, it was called the "morning" and "evening star". This is a neighbor of our planet, these planets are also similar in size and appearance.

Venus is surrounded by a fairly dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide. On the surface there are mountains and plains, volcanic eruptions often occur.

Temperatures on the surface of Venus reach over 400 degrees Celsius because the planet is covered by dense layers of clouds that trap heat.

However, on the shadow side on Venus, the temperature is about 20 degrees below zero, because the sun's rays do not fall here for a very long time. Venus has no satellites.

Message about Venus for children

Venus is the second planet of the solar system. Named after Venus, the goddess of love from the Roman pantheon. It is the only one of the eight major planets in the solar system to be named after a female deity.

Venus is sometimes referred to as "Earth's sister" because the two planets are similar in size, gravity, and composition. However, the conditions on the two planets are very different.

The atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, the rest is nitrogen with a small amount of other compounds. According to its structure the atmosphere is dense, deep and very cloudy. But the surface of the planet is difficult to see due to a kind of "greenhouse effect". The pressure there is 85 times greater than ours. The composition of the surface in its density resembles the basalts of the Earth, but it is extremely dry due to the complete absence of liquid and high temperatures. The temperature on the planet rises to 462°C. The crust is 50 km thick and consists of silicate rocks.

Research scientists have shown that Venus has granite deposits along with uranium, thorium and potassium, as well as basalt rocks. The top layer of soil is close to the earth, and the surface is strewn with thousands of volcanoes.

• One axial rotation (sidereal day) takes 243 days, and the orbital path covers 225 days. A sunny day lasts 117 days. This the longest day on all the planets of the solar system.

Another interesting feature - Venus, unlike other planets in the system, rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west. It also lacks satellites.