The planet Venus is our closest neighbor. Venus comes closer to Earth than any other planet, at a distance of 40 million km or closer. The distance from the Sun to Venus is 108,000,000 km, or 0.723 AU.

Venus's dimensions and mass are close to those of Earth: the diameter of the planet is only 5% less than the diameter of the Earth, its mass is 0.815 that of the Earth, and its gravity is 0.91 that of the Earth. At the same time, Venus rotates very slowly around its axis in the direction opposite to the rotation of the Earth (i.e., from east to west).

Despite the fact that in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Various astronomers have repeatedly reported the discovery of natural satellites of Venus. It is currently known that the planet does not have any.

Atmosphere of Venus

Unlike other terrestrial planets, studying Venus using telescopes turned out to be impossible, since M. V. Lomonosov (1711 - 1765), observing the passage of the planet against the background of the Sun on June 6, 1761, he established that Venus is surrounded by “a noble air atmosphere, such (if only not greater) than that which surrounds our globe.”

The planet's atmosphere extends to a height 5500 km, and its density is 35 times the density of the earth. Atmospheric pressure in 100 times higher than on Earth, and reaches 10 million Pa. The structure of the atmosphere of this planet is shown in Fig. 1.

The last time astronomers, scientists and amateurs were able to observe the passage of Venus against the background of the solar disk in Russia was on June 8, 2004. And on June 6, 2012 (i.e., with an 8-year interval), this amazing phenomenon can be observed again. The next passage will take place only after 100 years.

Rice. 1. The structure of the atmosphere of Venus

In 1967, the Soviet interplanetary probe Venera 4 for the first time transmitted information about the planet’s atmosphere, which consists of 96% carbon dioxide (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Composition of the atmosphere of Venus

Due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide, which, like a film, retains heat at the surface, the planet experiences a typical greenhouse effect (Fig. 3). Thanks to the greenhouse effect, any existence of liquid water near the surface of Venus is excluded. The air temperature on Venus is approximately +500 °C. Under such conditions, organic life is excluded.

Rice. 3. Greenhouse effect on Venus

On October 22, 1975, the Soviet probe Venera 9 landed on Venus and transmitted a television report from this planet to Earth for the first time.

General characteristics of the planet Venus

Thanks to Soviet and American interplanetary stations, it is now known that Venus is a planet with complex terrain.

Mountainous terrain with a height difference of 2-3 km, a volcano with a base diameter of 300-400 km and you
the hundredth is about 1 km, a huge basin (length 1500 km from north to south and 1000 km from west to east) and relatively flat areas. In the equatorial region of the planet there are more than 10 ring structures, similar to the craters of Mercury, with a diameter of 35 to 150 km, but highly smoothed and flat. In addition, in the planet’s crust there is a fault 1500 km long, 150 km wide and about 2 km deep.

In 1981, the stations “Venera-13” and “Venera-14” examined samples of the planet’s soil and transmitted the first color photographs of Venus to the ground. Thanks to this, we know that the surface rocks of the planet are similar in composition to terrestrial sedimentary rocks, and the sky above the horizon of Venus is orange-yellow-green.

At present, human flights to Venus are unlikely, but at an altitude of 50 km from the planet, the temperature and pressure are close to conditions on Earth, so it is possible to create interplanetary stations here to study Venus and to recharge spacecraft.

Venus. Astronomers often call it “Earth's sister” due to the planets' similar characteristics of composition, gravity, and size. However, the remaining 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.

History of the discovery of the planet

Due to its close location to the Sun and Earth, Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, so humanity knew about its existence at the dawn of civilization. The first observations of the planet, and one might 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 sent from Earth on February 12, 1961 and was called Venera 1.
4. Venus is one of two planets whose direction of rotation around its axis is different from most planets in the solar system.
5. The planet's orbit 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 observations of Venus through a telescope were made by Galileo Galilei at the beginning of the 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, received its name during the times of Ancient Rome. Because of her beauty and brightness in the starry sky, she was awarded 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 observation equipment, various astronomers hypothesized the presence of satellites around Venus. However, scientific studies by spacecraft and powerful ground-based telescopes have shown that there are no satellites or rings around Venus.

Features of the planet

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

Venus is covered in a thick layer of rapidly eroding atmosphere, creating a scorched world with temperatures hot enough to melt lead and surface pressures 90 times greater than Earth's. Due to its proximity to 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 transits 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 about another hundred years, since the next pair of transits will occur in 2117 and 2125.

Venus's atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide, while its 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 thick atmosphere of the planet absorbs solar heat and does not release it to the outside, as a result of which the surface of the planet heats up to very high temperatures - about 470 ° C. Research probes that landed on the surface of Venus could not remain in working condition for more than a few hours, after which they were destroyed due to high temperature and pressure.

One year on Venus lasts about 225 Earth days, while the complete period of the planet's revolution around itself lasts about 243 Earth days, this makes a day on Venus incredibly long in time and amounts to 117 days. Venus is one of two planets in the solar system (the other is Uranus) whose rotation on its axis is opposite to the rotation 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 moves along its solar orbit, slowly rotating around its axis in the opposite direction, its atmosphere is already moving in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation around its axis at 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 still continues, but no evidence has been found to support this theory. The low number of impact craters indicates a fairly young surface of the planet - approximately 500 million years.

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

Venus has two large high-mountain regions: "Ishtar's Land", located in the planet's north polar region and comparable in size to Australia, and "Aphrodite's Land", a mountain range more than 10,000 kilometers long located along the equator. Mount Maxwell, the highest mountain on Venus, comparable in size to 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 planetary crust about 16 kilometers thick. The planet does not have a magnetic field, from this scientists concluded that in the iron core there is no movement of charged particles - electric current, the flow of which causes the formation of a magnetic field. Therefore, the nucleus is in a solid state.

Atmosphere of the planet

The first evidence of the existence of an atmosphere on Venus was obtained by Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761, while observing 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, which extends 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 has led to the fact that the pressure at the surface of the planet reaches 93 atmospheres, and such a high content of carbon dioxide has led to the emergence of a greenhouse effect, resulting in the temperature on the surface of the planet reaching 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 of movement around the planet, which is approximately 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 for the generation and maintenance of such a gigantic planetary hurricane.

In addition to strong winds, the Venera-2 research apparatus recorded lightning striking twice as often on the planet 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 space objects

Venus– the second planet of the Solar System: mass, size, distance from the Sun and planets, orbit, composition, temperature, interesting facts, history of research.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the hottest planet in the solar system. For ancient people, Venus was a constant companion. It is an evening star and the brightest neighbor that has been observed for thousands of years after recognition of its planetary nature. That is why it appears in mythology and has been noted in many cultures and peoples. With each century, interest increased, and these observations helped to understand the structure of our system. Before you begin the description and characteristics, find out interesting facts about Venus.

Interesting facts about the planet Venus

A day lasts longer than a year

• The rotation axis (sidereal day) takes 243 days, and the orbital path spans 225 days. A sunny day lasts 117 days.

Rotates in the opposite direction

• Venus can be retrograde, meaning it rotates in the opposite direction. Perhaps there was a collision with a large asteroid in the past. It is also distinguished by the absence of satellites.

Second in brightness in the sky

• For an earthly observer, only the Moon is brighter than Venus. With a magnitude of -3.8 to -4.6, the planet is so bright that it appears periodically in the middle of the day.

Atmospheric pressure is 92 times greater than Earth's

• Although they are similar in size, Venus's surface is not as cratered as the thick atmosphere erases incoming asteroids. The pressure on its surface is comparable to what is felt at great depths.

Venus - earthly sister

• The difference in their diameters is 638 km, and the mass of Venus reaches 81.5% of the Earth’s. They also converge in structure.

Called the Morning and Evening Star

• Ancient people believed that there were two different objects in front of them: Lucifer and Vesper (among the Romans). The fact is that its orbit overtakes the earth's and the planet appears at night or during the day. It was described in detail by the Mayans in 650 BC.

The hottest planet

• The temperature of the planet rises to 462°C. Venus does not have a remarkable axial tilt, so it lacks seasonality. The dense atmospheric layer is represented by carbon dioxide (96.5%) and retains heat, creating a greenhouse effect.

Study completed in 2015

• In 2006, the Venus Express spacecraft was sent to the planet and entered its orbit. The mission initially covered 500 days, but was later extended until 2015. He managed to find more than a thousand volcanoes and volcanic centers with a length of 20 km.

The first mission belonged to the USSR

• In 1961, the Soviet probe Venera 1 set off for Venus, but contact quickly broke off. The same thing happened with the American Mariner 1. In 1966, the USSR managed to lower the first apparatus (Venera-3). This helped to see the surface hidden behind the dense acidic haze. Research progressed with the advent of radiographic mapping in the 1960s. It is believed that in the past the planet had oceans that evaporated due to rising temperatures.

Size, mass and orbit of the planet Venus

There are many similarities between Venus and Earth, which is why the neighbor is often called Earth’s sister. By mass - 4.8866 x 10 24 kg (81.5% of the earth's), surface area - 4.60 x 10 8 km 2 (90%), and volume - 9.28 x 10 11 km 3 (86.6%).

The distance from the Sun to Venus reaches 0.72 AU. e. (108,000,000 km), and the world is practically devoid of eccentricity. Its aphelion reaches 108,939,000 km, and its perihelion reaches 107,477,000 km. So we can consider this to be the most circular orbital path of all the planets. The bottom photo successfully demonstrates a comparison of the sizes of Venus and Earth.

When Venus is located between us and the Sun, it approaches Earth closest to all the planets - 41 million km. This happens once every 584 days. The orbital path takes 224.65 days (61.5% of the Earth's).

Equatorial	6051.5 km
Average radius	6051.8 km
Surface area	4.60 10 8 km²
Volume	9.38 10 11 km³
Weight	4.86 10 24 kg
Average density	5.24 g/cm³
Acceleration free falls at the equator	8.87 m/s² 0.904 g
First escape velocity	7.328 km/s
Second escape velocity	10.363 km/s
Equatorial speed rotation	6.52 km/h
Rotation period	243.02 days
Axis tilt	177.36°
Right ascension north pole	18 h 11 min 2 s 272.76°
North declination	67.16°
Albedo	0,65
Visible stellar magnitude	−4,7
Angular diameter	9.7"–66.0"

Venus is not a very standard planet and stands out to many. If almost all the planets in order in the solar system rotate counterclockwise, then Venus rotates clockwise. In addition, the process occurs slowly and one of its days covers 243 earthly ones. It turns out that the sidereal day is longer than the planetary year.

Composition and surface of the planet Venus

It is believed that the internal structure resembles that of the Earth with a core, mantle and crust. The core must be at least partially liquid because both planets cooled almost simultaneously.

But plate tectonics speaks to the differences. The crust of Venus is too strong, which led to a decrease in heat loss. This may have been the reason for the lack of internal magnetic field. Study the structure of Venus in the picture.

The creation of the surface was influenced by volcanic activity. There are approximately 167 large volcanoes on the planet (more than on Earth), whose height exceeds 100 km. Their presence is based on the absence of tectonic movement, which is why we are looking at ancient crust. Its age is estimated at 300-600 million years.

It is believed that volcanoes can still erupt lava. Soviet missions, as well as ESA observations, confirmed the presence of lightning storms in the atmospheric layer. Venus does not have the usual precipitation, so lightning can be created by a volcano.

They also noted a periodic increase/decrease in the amount of sulfur dioxide, which speaks in favor of eruptions. IR imaging picks up hot spots that hint at lava. You can see that the surface perfectly preserves craters, of which there are approximately 1000. They can reach 3-280 km in diameter.

You won't find smaller craters because small asteroids simply burn up in the dense atmosphere. To reach the surface, it is necessary to exceed 50 meters in diameter.

Atmosphere and temperature of the planet Venus

It was previously extremely difficult to view the surface of Venus, because the view was blocked by an incredibly dense atmospheric haze, represented by carbon dioxide with small admixtures of nitrogen. The pressure is 92 bar, and the atmospheric mass is 93 times greater than that of the earth.

Let's not forget that Venus is the hottest among the solar planets. The average is 462°C, which remains stable night and day. It's all about the presence of a huge amount of CO 2, which, together with clouds of sulfur dioxide, forms a powerful greenhouse effect.

The surface is characterized by isothermality (does not affect the distribution or changes in temperature at all). The minimum axis tilt is 3°, which also does not allow seasons to appear. Changes in temperature are observed only with altitude.

It is worth noting that the temperature at the highest point of Mount Maxwell reaches 380°C, and the atmospheric pressure is 45 bar.

If you find yourself on the planet, you will immediately encounter powerful wind currents whose acceleration reaches 85 km/s. They travel around the entire planet in 4-5 days. In addition, dense clouds are capable of forming lightning.

Atmosphere of Venus

Astronomer Dmitry Titov about the temperature regime on the planet, clouds of sulfuric acid and the greenhouse effect:

History of the study of the planet Venus

People in ancient times knew about its existence, but mistakenly believed that there were two different objects in front of them: the morning and evening stars. It is worth noting that Venus officially began to be perceived as a single object in the 6th century BC. e., but back in 1581 BC. e. There was a Babylonian tablet that clearly explained the true nature of the planet.

For many, Venus has become the personification of the goddess of love. The Greeks named after Aphrodite, and for the Romans the morning appearance became Lucifer.

In 1032, Avicenna first observed the passage of Venus in front of the Sun and realized that the planet was located closer to the Earth than the Sun. In the 12th century, Ibn Bajay found two black spots, which were later explained by the transits of Venus and Mercury.

In 1639, the transit was monitored by Jeremiah Horrocks. Galileo Galilei used his instrument in the early 17th century and noted the phases of the planet. This was an extremely important observation, which indicated that Venus went around the Sun, which means Copernicus was right.

In 1761, Mikhail Lomonosov discovered an atmosphere on the planet, and in 1790 it was noted by Johann Schröter.

The first serious observation was made by Chester Lyman in 1866. There was a complete ring of light around the dark side of the planet, which once again hinted at the presence of an atmosphere. The first UV survey was performed in the 1920s.

Spectroscopic observations revealed the peculiarities of rotation. Vesto Slifer was trying to determine the Doppler shift. But when he failed, he began to guess that the planet was turning too slowly. Moreover, in the 1950s. We realized that we were dealing with retrograde rotation.

Radar was used in the 1960s. and obtained rotation rates close to modern ones. Features like Mount Maxwell were talked about thanks to the Arecibo Observatory.

Exploration of the planet Venus

Scientists from the USSR actively began studying Venus, and in the 1960s. sent several spaceships. The first mission ended in failure, as it did not even reach the planet.

The same thing happened with the American first attempt. But Mariner 2, sent in 1962, managed to pass at a distance of 34,833 km from the planetary surface. Observations confirmed the presence of high heat, which immediately ended all hopes for the presence of life.

The first device on the surface was the Soviet Venera 3, which landed in 1966. But the information was never obtained, because the connection was immediately interrupted. In 1967, Venera 4 arrived. As it descended, the mechanism determined the temperature and pressure. But the batteries quickly ran out and communication was lost while he was still in the process of descending.

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

In 1969, Venus 5 and 6 also arrived, and managed to transmit data during their 50-minute descent. But Soviet scientists did not give up. Venera 7 crashed on the surface, but managed to transmit information for 23 minutes.

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

More than 4,000 images were taken by Mariner 10 on its way to Mercury. At the end of the 70s. NASA prepared two probes (Pioneers), one of which 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 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. It spent 4.5 years in orbit and imaged 98% of the surface and 95% of the gravitational field. In the end, he was sent to his death in the atmosphere to obtain density data.

Galileo and Cassini observed Venus in passing. 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.

The Japanese agency JAXA sent the Akatsuki probe in 2010, but it failed to enter orbit.

In 2013, NASA sent an experimental suborbital space telescope that studied UV light from the planet's atmosphere to accurately investigate Venus's water history.

Also in 2018, ESA may launch the BepiColombo project. There are also rumors about the Venus In-Situ Explorer project, which could start in 2022. Its goal is to study the characteristics of regolith. Russia can also send the Venera-D spacecraft in 2024, which they plan to lower to the surface.

Due to the proximity to us, as well as the similarity in certain parameters, there were those who expected to discover life on Venus. Now we know about her hellish hospitality. But there is an opinion that it once had water and a favorable atmosphere. Moreover, the planet is inside the habitable zone and has an ozone layer. Of course, the greenhouse effect led to the disappearance of water billions of years ago.

However, this does not mean that we cannot count on human colonies. The most suitable conditions are located at an altitude of 50 km. These will be aerial cities based on durable airships. Of course, it is difficult to do all this, but these projects prove that we are still interested in this neighbor. In the meantime, we are forced to watch it from a distance and dream about future settlements. Now you know which planet Venus is. Be sure to follow the links for more interesting facts and check out the map of the surface of Venus.

Every schoolchild knows about the existence of the planet Venus in the solar system. Not everyone will remember that it is closest to the Earth and second from the Sun. Well, only a few can name more or less accurately the period of Venus’s revolution around the Sun. Let's try to close this knowledge gap.

Venus - the planet of paradoxes

It's worth starting with a brief description of the planet. Closer to the Sun in our system is only Mercury. But it is Venus that is closest to Earth - at some moments the distance between them is only 42 million kilometers. By cosmic standards, this is quite a bit.

And the neighboring planets are quite similar in size - the extent of Venus’s equator is equal to 95% of the same figure for Earth.

But in the rest, continuous differences begin. To begin with, Venus is the only planet in the solar system that has reverse or retrograde rotation around its axis. That is, the Sun here does not rise in the east and set in the west, as on all other planets, but vice versa. Very unusual and unusual!

Length of the year

Now let's talk about the period of Venus' revolution around the Sun - it is almost 225 days or, more precisely, 224.7. Yes, that’s exactly how long it takes the planet to make a full revolution around the sun - 140 days more than it takes for the Earth. It’s not surprising - the farther the planet is from the Sun, the longer the year there.

But the speed of the planet’s movement in space is quite high - 35 kilometers per second! In one hour it covers 126 thousand kilometers. Just imagine the distance it travels in a year, given the sidereal period of Venus's orbit around the Sun!

When a day is longer than a year

When speaking about the period during which Venus makes a full revolution around the nearest star, it is worth noting its period of revolution around its own axis, that is, a day.

This period is truly impressive. It takes the planet 243 days to make just one revolution around its axis. Just imagine these days - longer than a year!

It is because of this that the inhabitants of Venus, if they existed there (the existence of any life is very doubtful due to the features that we will talk about a little later), would find themselves in an unusual situation.

The fact is that on Earth the change of time of day occurs due to the rotation of the planet around its axis. After all, a day here lasts 24 hours, and a year lasts more than 365 days. On Venus, the opposite is true. Here, the time of day depends more on what exact point in its orbit the planet is at. Yes, this is exactly what affects which parts of the planet will be illuminated by the hot sun, and which will remain in the shadows. Because of this state of affairs, it would be very difficult to live here by the clock - midnight would sometimes fall in the morning or evening, and even at noon the sun would not always be at its zenith.

Unfriendly planet

Now you know what the period of revolution of the planet Venus around the Sun is. You can tell us more about her herself.

For many years, science fiction writers, relying on scientists' assertions that Venus is almost equal in size to the Earth, populated it in their works with a variety of creatures. Alas, in the mid-twentieth century all these fantasies collapsed. The latest data has proven that it is unlikely that anything can survive here.

Let's start with the winds. Even the most monstrous hurricanes on Earth will seem like a light, pleasant breeze in comparison. The hurricane's speed is about 33 meters per second. And on Venus, almost non-stop, the wind blows up to 100 meters per second! Not a single earthly object could withstand such pressure.

The atmosphere is also not very rosy. It is completely unsuitable for breathing, since it consists of 97% carbon dioxide. Oxygen is either absent here or present in very small quantities. In addition, the pressure here is simply monstrous. On the surface of the planet, the atmospheric density is approximately 67 kg per cubic meter. Because of this, having set foot on Venus, a person would immediately feel (if he had time) the same pressure as in the sea at a depth of almost a kilometer!

And the temperature here is not at all conducive to a pleasant pastime. During the day, the surface of the planet and the air warms up to approximately 467 degrees Celsius. This is significantly higher than the temperature of Mercury, the distance from which to the Sun is half that of Venus! This is easily explained by the extremely dense atmosphere and the greenhouse effect created by the high concentration of carbon dioxide. On Mercury, heat from the hot surface simply evaporates into outer space. Here, the dense atmosphere simply does not allow it to escape, which leads to such extreme indicators. Even at night, which lasts four earthly months, it becomes only 1-2 degrees cooler here. And all because greenhouse gases do not allow heat to escape.

Conclusion

This is where we can end the article. Now you know the period of Venus’ revolution around the Sun, as well as other features of this amazing planet. Surely this will significantly expand your horizons in the field of astronomy.

At the North Pole

18 h 11 min 2 s
272.76° Declination at the North Pole 67.16° Albedo 0,65 Surface temperature 737 K
(464 °C) Apparent magnitude −4,7 Angular size 9,7" - 66,0" Atmosphere Surface pressure 9.3 MPa Atmospheric composition ~96.5% Ang. gas
~3.5% Nitrogen
0.015% Sulfur dioxide
0.007% Argon
0.002% Water vapor
0.0017% Carbon monoxide
0.0012% Helium
0.0007% Neon
(trace) Carbon sulphide
(traces) Hydrogen chloride
(traces) Hydrogen fluoride

Venus- the second inner planet of the Solar system with an orbital period of 224.7 Earth days. The planet got its name in honor of Venus, the goddess of love from the Roman pantheon. Her astronomical symbol is a stylized version of a lady's mirror - an attribute of the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is the third brightest object in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon and reaches an apparent magnitude of −4.6. Because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it never appears too far from the Sun: the maximum angular distance between it and the Sun is 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or some time after sunset, which gave rise to the name Evening star or Morning star.

Venus is classified as an Earth-like planet and is sometimes called "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 surface of Venus is hidden by extremely thick clouds of sulfuric acid clouds with high reflective characteristics, which makes it impossible to see the surface in visible light (but its atmosphere is transparent to radio waves, with the help of which the planet's topography was subsequently studied). Disputes about what lies beneath Venus's thick clouds continued into the twentieth century, until many of Venus's secrets were revealed by planetary science. Venus has the densest atmosphere among other Earth-like planets, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide. This is explained by the fact that on Venus there is no carbon cycle and no organic life that could process it into biomass.

In ancient times, Venus is believed to have become so hot that the Earth-like oceans it is thought to have evaporated completely, leaving behind a desert landscape with many slab-like rocks. One hypothesis suggests that water vapor, due to a weak magnetic field, rose so high above the surface that it was carried by the solar wind into interplanetary space.

Basics

The average distance of Venus from the Sun is 108 million km (0.723 AU). Its orbit is very close to circular - the eccentricity is only 0.0068. The period of revolution around the Sun is 224.7 days; average orbital speed - 35 km/s. The inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic plane is 3.4°.

Comparative sizes of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

Venus rotates around its axis, tilted 2° from the perpendicular to the orbital plane, from east to west, i.e. in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of most planets. One revolution around its axis takes 243.02 days. The combination of these movements gives the value of a solar day on the planet 116.8 Earth days. It is interesting that Venus completes one revolution around its axis in relation to the Earth in 146 days, and the synodic period is 584 days, i.e. exactly four times longer. As a result, at each inferior conjunction, Venus faces the Earth with the same side. It is not yet known whether this is a coincidence, or whether the gravitational attraction of Earth and Venus is at work here.

Venus is quite close in size to Earth. The radius of the planet is 6051.8 km (95% of the Earth), mass - 4.87 × 10 24 kg (81.5% of the Earth), average density - 5.24 g / cm³. The acceleration of gravity is 8.87 m/s², the second escape velocity is 10.46 km/s.

Atmosphere

The wind, very weak at the surface of the planet (no more than 1 m/s), near the equator at an altitude of over 50 km intensifies to 150-300 m/s. Observations from robotic space stations have detected thunderstorms in the atmosphere.

Surface and internal structure

Internal structure of Venus

Exploration of the surface of Venus became possible with the development of radar methods. The most detailed map was compiled by the American Magellan apparatus, which photographed 98% of the planet's surface. Mapping has revealed extensive elevations on Venus. The largest of them are the Land of Ishtar and the Land of Aphrodite, comparable in size to the earth's continents. Numerous craters have also been identified on the surface of the planet. They probably formed when Venus's atmosphere was less dense. A significant part of the planet's surface is geologically young (about 500 million years). 90% of the planet's surface is covered with solidified basaltic lava.

Several models of the internal structure of Venus have been proposed. According to the most realistic of them, Venus has three shells. The first - the crust - is approximately 16 km thick. Next is the mantle, a silicate shell that extends to a depth of about 3,300 km to the border with the iron core, the mass of which is about a quarter of the total mass of the planet. Since the planet’s own magnetic field is absent, it should be assumed that in the iron core there is no movement of charged particles - an electric current causing a magnetic field, therefore, there is no movement of matter in the core, that is, it is in a solid state. The density at the center of the planet reaches 14 g/cm³.

It is interesting that all the details of the relief of Venus bear female names, with the exception of the highest mountain range of the planet, located on Ishtar Earth near the Lakshmi Plateau and named after James Maxwell.

Relief

Craters on the surface of Venus

Image of the surface of Venus based on radar data.

Impact craters are a rare element of the Venusian landscape. There are only about 1,000 craters on the entire planet. The picture shows two craters with diameters of about 40 - 50 km. The interior area is filled with lava. The "petals" around craters are areas covered with crushed rock thrown out during the explosion that formed the crater.

Observing Venus

View from Earth

Venus is easy to recognize because it is much brighter than the brightest stars. A distinctive feature of the planet is its smooth white color. Venus, like Mercury, does not move very far from the Sun in the sky. At moments of elongation, Venus can move away from our star by a maximum of 48°. Like Mercury, Venus has periods of morning and evening visibility: in ancient times it was believed that morning and evening Venus were different stars. Venus is the third brightest object in our sky. During periods of visibility, its maximum brightness is about m = −4.4.

With a telescope, even a small one, you can easily see and observe changes in the visible phase of the planet’s disk. It was first observed in 1610 by Galileo.

Venus next to the Sun, obscured by the Moon. Shot of Clementine's apparatus

Walking across the disk of the Sun

Venus on the disk of the Sun

Venus in front of the Sun. Video

Since Venus is the inner planet of the solar system in relation to the Earth, its inhabitant can observe the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun, when from the Earth through a telescope this planet appears as a small black disk against the background of a huge star. However, this astronomical phenomenon is one of the rarest that can be observed from the surface of the Earth. Over the course of approximately two and a half centuries, four passages occur - two in December and two in June. The next one will happen on June 6, 2012.

The passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun was first observed on December 4, 1639 by the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks (-) He also pre-calculated this phenomenon.

Of particular interest to science were the observations of the “phenomenon of Venus on the Sun” made by M. V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761. This cosmic phenomenon was also calculated in advance and eagerly awaited by astronomers around the world. Its study was required to determine parallax, which made it possible to clarify the distance from the Earth to the Sun (using the method developed by the English astronomer E. Halley), which required the organization of observations from different geographical points on the surface of the globe - a joint effort of scientists from many countries.

Similar visual studies were carried out at 40 points with the participation of 112 people. On the territory of Russia, their organizer was M.V. Lomonosov, who addressed the Senate on March 27 with a report justifying the need to equip astronomical expeditions to Siberia for this purpose, petitioned for the allocation of funds for this expensive event, he compiled manuals for observers, etc. The result of his efforts was the direction of the expedition of N. I. Popov to Irkutsk and S. Ya Rumovsky to Selenginsk. It also cost him considerable effort to organize observations in St. Petersburg, at the Academic Observatory, with the participation of A. D. Krasilnikov and N. G. Kurganov. Their task was to observe the contacts of Venus and the Sun - the visual contact of the edges of their disks. M.V. Lomonosov, who was most interested in the physical side of the phenomenon, conducting independent observations in his home observatory, discovered a light ring around Venus.

This passage was observed all over the world, but only M.V. Lomonosov drew attention to the fact that when Venus came into contact with the disk of the Sun, a “thin, hair-like glow” appeared around the planet. The same light halo was observed during the descent of Venus from the solar disk.

M.V. Lomonosov gave the correct scientific explanation for this phenomenon, considering it the result of refraction of solar rays in the atmosphere of Venus. “The planet Venus,” he wrote, “is surrounded by a noble air atmosphere, such (if only not more) than that which surrounds our globe.” Thus, for the first time in the history of astronomy, even a hundred years before the discovery of spectral analysis, the physical study of the planets began. At that time, almost nothing was known about the planets of the solar system. Therefore, M.V. Lomonosov considered the presence of an atmosphere on Venus as indisputable evidence of the similarity of the planets and, in particular, the similarity between Venus and Earth. The effect was seen by many observers: Chappe D'Auteroche, S. Ya. Rumovsky, L. V. Vargentin, T. O. Bergman, but only M. V. Lomonosov interpreted it correctly. In astronomy, this phenomenon of light scattering, the reflection of light rays during grazing incidence (in M.V. Lomonosov - “bump”), received its name - “ Lomonosov phenomenon»

An interesting second effect was observed by astronomers as the disk of Venus approached the outer edge of the solar disk or moved away from it. This phenomenon, also discovered by M.V. Lomonosov, was not satisfactorily interpreted, and it, apparently, should be regarded as a mirror reflection of the Sun by the atmosphere of the planet - it is especially great at small grazing angles, when Venus is near the Sun. The scientist describes it as follows:

Exploring the planet using spacecraft

Venus has been studied quite intensively using spacecraft. The first spacecraft intended to study Venus was the Soviet Venera-1. After an attempt to reach Venus with this device, launched on February 12, the Soviet devices of the Venera, Vega series, and the American Mariner, Pioneer-Venera-1, Pioneer-Venera-2, and Magellan series were sent to the planet. The Venera-9 and Venera-10 spacecraft transmitted the first photographs of the surface of Venus to Earth; "Venera-13" and "Venera-14" transmitted color images from the surface of Venus. However, the conditions on the surface of Venus are such that none of the spacecraft worked on the planet for more than two hours. In 2016, Roscosmos plans to launch a more durable probe that will operate on the surface of the planet for at least a day.

More information

Satellite of Venus

Venus (like Mars and Earth) has a quasi-satellite, asteroid 2002 VE68, orbiting the Sun in such a way that there is an orbital resonance between it and Venus, as a result of which it remains close to the planet over many orbital periods.

Terraforming Venus

Venus in different cultures

Venus in literature

• In Alexander Belyaev’s novel “Leap into Nothing” the heroes, a handful of capitalists, flee from the world proletarian revolution into Space, land on Venus and settle there. The planet is presented in the novel approximately as the Earth in the Mesozoic era.
• In Boris Lyapunov’s science fiction essay “Closest to the Sun,” earthlings set foot on Venus and Mercury for the first time and study them.
• In Vladimir Vladko’s novel “The Argonauts of the Universe,” a Soviet geological exploration expedition is sent to Venus.
• In Georgy Martynov’s novel-trilogy “Starfarers”, the second book - “Sister of the Earth” - is dedicated to the adventures of Soviet cosmonauts on Venus and getting to know its intelligent inhabitants.
• In the series of stories by Victor Saparin: “Heavenly Kulu”, “Return of the Roundheads” and “The Disappearance of Loo”, the astronauts who landed on the planet establish contact with the inhabitants of Venus.
• In the story “Planet of Storms” by Alexander Kazantsev (novel “Grandchildren of Mars”), cosmonaut researchers encounter the animal world and traces of intelligent life on Venus. Filmed by Pavel Klushantsev as “Planet of Storms”.
• In the novel by the Strugatsky Brothers “The Country of Crimson Clouds”, Venus was the second planet after Mars, which they are trying to colonize, and they send the planet “Chius” with a crew of scouts to the area of ​​​​radioactive substance deposits called “Uranium Golconda”.
• In Sever Gansovsky’s story “Saving December,” the last two observers of earthlings meet December, the animal on which the natural balance on Venus depended. The Decembers were considered completely exterminated and people were ready to die, but leave the Decembers alive.
• The novel “The Splash of Starry Seas” by Evgeniy Voiskunsky and Isaiah Lukodyanov tells about reconnaissance cosmonauts, scientists, and engineers who, in difficult conditions of space and human society, colonize Venus.
• In the story “Planet of Mists” by Alexander Shalimov, expedition members sent on a laboratory ship to Venus try to solve the mysteries of this planet.
• In the stories of Ray Bradbury, the planet's climate is presented as extremely rainy (it either rains always or stops once every ten years)
• Robert Heinlein's novels Between the Planets, Podkain the Martian, Space Cadet, and The Logic of Empire depict Venus as a gloomy, swampy world reminiscent of the Amazon Valley during the rainy season. Venus is home to intelligent inhabitants that resemble seals or dragons.
• In Stanislaw Lem’s novel “Astronauts,” earthlings find on Venus the remains of a lost civilization that was about to destroy life on Earth. Filmed as The Silent Star.
• Francis Karsak's “Earth's Flight”, along with the main plot, describes a colonized Venus, the atmosphere of which has undergone physical and chemical treatment, as a result of which the planet has become suitable for human life.
• Henry Kuttner's science fiction novel Fury tells of the terraforming of Venus by colonists from a lost Earth.

Literature

• Koronovsky N. N. Morphology of the surface of Venus // Soros Educational Journal.
• Burba G. A. Venus: Russian transcription of names // Laboratory of Comparative Planetology GEOKHI, May 2005.

See also

Links

• Pictures taken by Soviet spacecraft

Notes

1. Williams, David R. Venus Fact Sheet. NASA (April 15, 2005). Retrieved October 12, 2007.
2. Venus: Facts & Figures. NASA. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
3. Space Topics: Compare the Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, and Mars. Planetary Society. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
4. Caught in the wind from the Sun. ESA (Venus Express) (2007-11-28). Retrieved July 12, 2008.
5. College.ru
6. RIA Agency
7. Venus had oceans and volcanoes in the past - scientists RIA Novosti (2009-07-14).
8. M.V. Lomonosov writes: “...Mr. Kurganov, from his calculations, learned that this memorable passage of Venus across the Sun will happen again in May 1769 on the 23rd day of the old calm, which, although it is doubtful to see in St. Petersburg, only in many places near the local parallel, and especially further to the north, may be witnesses. For the beginning of the introduction will follow here at 10 o’clock in the afternoon, and the speech at 3 o’clock in the afternoon; will apparently pass along the upper half of the Sun at a distance from its center of approximately 2/3 of the solar half-diameter. And since 1769, after a hundred and five years, this phenomenon apparently occurs again. of the same October 29, 1769, the same passage of the planet Mercury across the Sun will be visible only in South America" ​​- M. V. Lomonosov "The Appearance of Venus on the Sun..."
9. Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov. Selected works in 2 volumes. M.: Science. 1986