Which planet in the solar system is called the morning star. Evening Star Venus

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 the fact that it was 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. It's about 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 to organize their missions since the 1960s, scientists still had hope that the conditions under the incredibly dense clouds of Venus could 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 descent module of the ship was in literally crushed by pressure in the planet's atmosphere, but the orbital module managed to make whole line valuable observations and obtain the first data on the temperature of Venus, density and chemical composition. The mission made it possible to determine that the atmosphere of the planet consists of 90% of carbon dioxide with a low content 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 magnetic field Earth. Indicator ultraviolet radiation The sun on board 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 everything back into space. sunlight, which receives Venus.

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 the observations of the Venus Express satellite, which is supervised by the European Space Agency (ESA), scientists for the first time managed to show how weather in the thick cloud layers 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 climate map 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 observations from spaceship, which cover a period of six years, from 2006 to 2012, and this allowed us to study the patterns of long-term changes in the weather 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 managed 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 consisted mainly of plains, which were formed 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 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, they have big difference and it consists 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.

Study volcanic activity planet revealed even more character traits surfaces.

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. Second characteristic feature are 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 disc-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. On the this moment it is believed that the crust of Venus has a thickness of 50 kilometers, the thickness of the mantle is 3000 kilometers, and the core has a diameter of 6000 kilometers.

In addition, scientists still do not have an answer to the question of whether the core of the planet is liquid or is solid. 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 early period the existence 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.

To make full turn around its axis, the planet needs 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 possessed large quantity 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, which changed the direction of its rotation.
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system average temperature surface 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, which evaporated water sources billions of years ago.
The temperature on Venus practically does not change with the change of day and night. This is due too slow motion 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).
Atmosphere pressure 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 of possible causes this is that Venus has a solid inner core or that it does not cool.
Venus 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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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 Angle dimension 9,7" - 66,0" Atmosphere Surface pressure 9.3 MPa Composition of the atmosphere ~96.5% ar. 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
(traces) Carbon sulfide
(traces) Hydrogen chloride
(traces) Hydrogen fluoride

Venus- the second inner planet of the solar system with a period of revolution of 224.7 Earth days. The planet got its name from 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. Since Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, it never seems to be 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 reason to call it also Evening Star or morning Star.

Venus is classified as an Earth-like planet and 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 surface of Venus is hidden by extremely dense 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 relief was subsequently studied). Disputes about what is under the thick clouds of Venus continued until the twentieth century, when many of the secrets of Venus were not revealed by planetary science. Venus has the densest atmosphere of any Earth-like planet, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide. This is because there is no carbon cycle on Venus and organic life that could process it into biomass.

In ancient times, Venus is believed to have warmed up so much that such terrestrial oceans, which it is believed to possess, completely evaporated, leaving behind a desert landscape with many slab-like rocks. One hypothesis suggests that due to the weakness of the magnetic field, water vapor rose so high above the surface that it was carried away by the solar wind into interplanetary space.

Basic information

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 plane of the ecliptic is 3.4°.

Comparative sizes of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

Venus rotates around its axis, deviated by 2 ° from the perpendicular to the plane of the orbit, from east to west, that is, in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of most planets. One revolution around the axis takes 243.02 days. The combination of these movements gives the value solar days there are 116.8 Earth days on the planet. Interestingly, Venus makes one revolution around its axis with respect to the Earth in 146 days, and the synodic period is 584 days, that is, 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 the Earth and Venus is acting here.

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

Atmosphere

The wind, which is very weak near the surface of the planet (no more than 1 m/s), increases to 150-300 m/s near the equator at an altitude of over 50 km. Observations from automatic space stations found in the atmosphere of a thunderstorm.

Surface and internal structure

The internal structure of Venus

Exploration of the surface of Venus became possible with the development of radar techniques. Most detailed map made up American apparatus"Magellan", photographing 98% of the planet's surface. Mapping has revealed vast uplands 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 proposed internal structure Venus. According to the most realistic of them, there are three shells on Venus. The first - the crust - is about 16 km thick. Next - the mantle, a silicate shell, extending to a depth of about 3300 km to the border with the iron core, the mass of which is about a quarter of the entire mass of the planet. Since there is no own magnetic field of the planet, it should be assumed that there is no movement of charged particles in the iron core - an electric current that causes a magnetic field, therefore, there is no movement of matter in the core, that is, it is in solid state. The density in the center of the planet reaches 14 g/cm³.

Interestingly, all the details of the relief of Venus are female names, with the exception of the highest mountain range planet located on Ishtar Earth near the Lakshmi plateau and named after James Maxwell.

Relief

Craters on the surface of Venus

An image of the surface of Venus based on radar data.

Impact craters are a rare feature 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 inner area is filled with lava. The "petals" around the craters are patches covered with crushed rock thrown out during the explosion during the formation of the crater.

Observation of Venus

View from Earth

Venus is easily recognizable as it far surpasses the brightest of stars in brilliance. hallmark the planet is her smooth White color. Venus, like Mercury, does not recede in the sky at a great distance from the Sun. At times 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 the morning and evening Venus - different stars. Venus is the third brightest object in our sky. During periods of visibility, its brightness is at its maximum at about m = −4.4.

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

Venus next to the Sun, covered by the Moon. Frame of the apparatus Clementine

Passage on 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 luminary. However, this astronomical phenomenon is one of the rarest that can be observed from the Earth's surface. Over the course of about two and a half centuries, there are four passages - two in December and two in June. The next one will take place on June 6, 2012.

For the first time observed the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun on December 4, 1639, the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks (-) He also predicted this phenomenon.

Of particular interest to science were the observations of the “phenomenon of Venus on the Sun”, which were made by M. V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761. This is space phenomenon was also pre-calculated and eagerly awaited by astronomers around the world. Its study was required to determine the parallax, which made it possible to clarify the distance from the Earth to the Sun (according to the method developed by the English astronomer E. Halley), which required the organization of observations from different geographic points on the surface the globe- joint efforts 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, they were organized by M.V. Lomonosov, who addressed the Senate on March 27 with a report substantiating the need for equipment for astronomical expeditions to Siberia for this purpose, petitioned for the allocation of funds for this expensive event, he compiled guides 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 efforts to organize observations in St. Petersburg, at the Academic Observatory, with the participation of AD Krasilnikov and NG Kurganov. Their task was to observe the contacts of Venus and the Sun - 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 rim 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 “shine as thin as hair” arose around the planet. The same bright halo was observed during the descent of Venus from the solar disk.

M. V. Lomonosov gave the correct scientific explanation this phenomenon, considering it the result of the refraction of sunlight in the atmosphere of Venus. “The planet Venus,” he wrote, “is surrounded by noble air atmosphere, such (if only not more), which is poured around our globe of the earth. So for the first time in the history of astronomy, even a hundred years before the discovery of spectral analysis, a foundation was laid physical study planets. At that time, almost nothing was known about the planets of the solar system. Therefore, the presence of an atmosphere on Venus was considered by M. V. Lomonosov as indisputable evidence of the similarity of the planets and, in particular, the similarity between Venus and the Earth. The effect was seen by many observers: Chappe D'Oteroche, 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 (for M. V. Lomonosov - “pimple”), received his name - “ The phenomenon of Lomonosov»

Of interest is the second effect observed by astronomers as the disk of Venus approaches or moves away from the outer edge of the solar disk. This phenomenon, also discovered by M.V. Lomonosov, has not been satisfactorily interpreted, and, apparently, should be regarded as mirror reflection of the Sun by the atmosphere of the planet - it is especially large at small glancing angles, when Venus is near the Sun. The scientist describes it as follows:

Planetary exploration using spacecraft

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

additional 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 near the planet for many periods of revolution.

Terraforming Venus

Venus in various 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 roughly as the Earth in the Mesozoic era.
In Boris Lyapunov's sci-fi essay "Nearest 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 exploration expedition is sent to Venus.
In Georgy Martynov's trilogy novel "Stargazers", the second book - "Sister of the Earth" - is dedicated to adventures Soviet cosmonauts on Venus and acquaintance with its intelligent inhabitants.
In the cycle of stories by Viktor Saparin: "Heavenly Kulu", "The Return of the Roundheads" and "The Disappearance of Loo", the astronauts who landed on the planet establish contact with the inhabitants of Venus.
In Alexander Kazantsev's story "The Planet of Storms" (the novel "Grandchildren of Mars"), astronauts-researchers encounter the animal world and traces of intelligent life on Venus. Filmed by Pavel Klushantsev as "Planet of Storms".
In the Strugatsky brothers' novel " Country of Crimson Clouds" Venus was the second planet after Mars, which they are trying to colonize, and they send the Khius planetary ship with a crew of scouts to the area of deposits radioactive substances 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 are ready to die, but leave the December alive.
The novel by Yevgeny Voiskunsky and Isai Lukodyanov "Splash of the Starry Seas" tells about reconnaissance cosmonauts, scientists, engineers who, in difficult conditions of space and human society, are colonizing Venus.
In Alexander Shalimov's story Planet of the Mists, the expedition members sent on a laboratory ship to Venus are trying to solve the riddles of this planet.
In the stories of Ray Bradbury, the climate of the planet is presented as extremely rainy (either it always rains, or it stops once every ten years)
In Robert Heinlein's novels Between the Planets, Podkane the Martian, Space Cadet, and The Logic of Empire, Venus is depicted as a gloomy swampy world, reminiscent of the Amazon valley during the rainy season. Venus is inhabited by intelligent inhabitants resembling seals or dragons.
In Stanislav Lem's novel The Astronauts, earthlings find on Venus the remains of a dead civilization that was about to destroy life on Earth. Screened as "Silent Star".
Francis Karsak "Escape of the Earth", along with the main plot, a colonized Venus is described, the atmosphere of which has passed physical and chemical treatment, as a result of which the planet became habitable for humans.
The science fiction novel Fury by Henry Kuttner tells of the terraforming of Venus by colonists from a dead Earth.

Literature

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

Notes

Williams, David R. Venus Fact Sheet. NASA (April 15, 2005). Retrieved October 12, 2007.
Venus: Facts & Figures. NASA. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
Space Topics: Compare the Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, and Mars. planetary society. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
Caught in the wind from the Sun. ESA (Venus Express) (2007-11-28). Retrieved July 12, 2008.
college.ru
RIA agency
Venus had oceans and volcanoes in the past - scientists RIA News (2009-07-14).
M. V. Lomonosov writes: “... Mr. Kurganov, by his calculation, found out that this memorable passage of Venus across the Sun, packs in May 1769, 23 days old calm, will happen, which, although it is doubtful to see in St. Petersburg, only many places near the local parallel, and especially lying 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 beginning at 3 o'clock in the afternoon; is likely to pass through the upper half of the Sun at a distance from its center close to 2/3 of the solar half-diameter. And since 1769, after a hundred and five years, this phenomenon apparently has again. the same October 29, 1769, the same passage and the planet Mercury across the Sun will be visible only in South America"- M. V. Lomonosov" The phenomenon of Venus on the Sun ... "
Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov. Selected works in 2 volumes. M.: Science. 1986

The morning sky brightens quite quickly with the dawn, and the stars disappear from it one by one. Only one luminary remains visible longer than the others. This is Venus, the planet - morning Star. It is many times brighter than Sirius for an earthly observer and is second only to the Moon in the night sky in this sense.

Features of movement in the sky

Today, almost everyone knows which planet is called the "morning star" and why. The beautiful Venus appears in the sky shortly before sunrise. After dawn, it remains visible longer than other luminaries due to its brightness. The most keen observers can see for several hours after sunrise white dot in the sky - this is the planet "morning star".

Venus also appears before sunset. In this case, it is called the evening star. As the sun dips below the horizon, the planet gets brighter. You can observe it for several hours, then Venus sets. It doesn't show up in the middle of the night.

Second from the Sun

The answer to the question “which planet is called the morning star” could be different if Venus was in a remote part of the solar system. A similar nickname was given to the cosmic body not only because of the peculiarities of its movement through the sky, but also because of its brightness. The latter, in turn, is the result of the position of the planet relative to the Earth and the Sun.

Venus is our neighbor. At the same time, it is the second planet from the Sun, almost identical in size to the Earth. Venus is the only one of the similar ones suitable for such close quarters to our home (minimum distance 40 million kilometers). These factors make it possible to admire it without the help of telescopes or binoculars.

Things of bygone days

In ancient times, the answers to the question of which planet is called the morning star and which planet is called the evening star did not coincide. It was not immediately noticed that the luminaries, anticipating their appearance, sunrise and sunset, are one and the same cosmic body. Ancient astronomers carefully watched these stars, poets wrote legends about them. After some time, careful observation paid off. The discovery is attributed to Pythagoras and dates back to 570-500. BC e. The scientist suggested that the planet, known as the morning star, is also the evening star. Since then, we know a lot about Venus.

mysterious planet

The cosmic body, named after, as if justifying its name, excited the minds of astronomers for a long time, but did not allow them to get closer to unraveling its secrets. Almost until the 60s of the last century, Venus was considered a twin of the Earth, there was talk about the possibility of discovering life on it. Much of this was facilitated by the discovery of her atmosphere. The discovery was made in 1761 by M. V. Lomonosov.

Improvement in technology and research methods made it possible to study Venus in more detail. It turned out that the dense atmosphere of the planet mainly consists of carbon dioxide. Its surface is always hidden from observation by a layer of clouds, probably consisting of sulfuric acid. The temperature on Venus exceeds all thresholds conceivable for a person: it reaches 450 ºС. This and other features of the planet became the reason for the curtailment of all theories that suggested life on a cosmic body close to us.

gas giant

However, the question “which planet is called the morning star” has another answer, and more than one. Jupiter is sometimes referred to by this name. The gas giant, although it is at a decent distance from our planet and is located farther from Mars from the Sun, follows Venus in brightness in the sky. Often they can be seen close to each other. More recently, in early July 2015, Venus and Jupiter were visible as a beautiful double star.

It should be noted that gas giant quite often available for observation throughout the night. Therefore, it cannot be called as suitable a candidate for the role of the morning star as Venus. However, this does not make it less interesting and beautiful object of the sky.

closest to the sun

There is another morning star. The planet other than Venus and Jupiter so designated is Mercury. closest to the sun cosmic body named after the Roman herald of the gods for its speed. Either ahead of or catching up with the daylight, for an earthly observer, Mercury is visible alternately in the evening and morning hours. This makes him related to Venus. The small planet is therefore also historically called the morning and evening star.

Elusive

Features of the movement of Mercury and proximity to the Sun make it difficult to observe. The ideal places for this are low latitudes and the equatorial region. Mercury is best visible during the period of maximum distance from the Sun (this time is called elongation). In mid-latitudes, the probability of seeing falls sharply. This is possible only during the best elongations. For observers from high latitudes, Mercury is inaccessible.

The visibility of the planet is cyclical. The period is from 3.5 to 4.5 months. If Mercury, moving in orbit, overtakes the daylight clockwise for an earthly observer, then at this time it can be seen in the morning hours. When it is behind the Sun, there is a chance to observe the fastest planet in the system in the evening. Each time Mercury is visible for about ten days.

Thus, this planet is called the morning star for good reason. However, this “nickname” of Mercury is not known to everyone for obvious reasons: to see it in the sky is a rare success due to its proximity to daylight and relatively small size.

So which planet is called the morning star? With all certainty, we can say that such a question implies the answer "Venus", less often "Mercury" and almost never, although this is possible, "Jupiter". The planet, named after the goddess of love, due to its proximity to the Earth and high reflectivity, and hence brightness, is more noticeable to an observer inexperienced in astronomy, and therefore will always firmly take the place of the most beautiful morning star for most.

The second planet from the Sun is Venus. Unlike Mercury, it is very easy to find it in the sky. Everyone happened to notice how sometimes in the evening in a still very bright sky the "evening star" lights up. As the dawn fades, Venus becomes brighter and brighter, and when it gets completely dark and many stars appear, she stands out sharply among them. But Venus does not shine for long. An hour or two passes, and she comes in. In the middle of the night, she never appears, but there is a time when she can be seen in the morning, before dawn, in the role of the "morning star". It will already be completely dawn, all the stars will long disappear, and the beautiful Venus still shines and shines against the bright background of the morning dawn.

People have known Venus since time immemorial. Many legends and beliefs were associated with it. In ancient times, they thought that these were two different luminaries: one appears in the evenings, the other in the mornings. Then they guessed that it was the same luminary, the beauty of the sky, the "evening and morning star" - Venus. "Evening Star" has been sung by poets and composers more than once, described in the works of great writers, depicted in the paintings of famous artists.

In terms of brilliance, Venus is the third luminary in the sky, if the Sun is considered the first, and the Moon is the second. It is not surprising that it can sometimes be seen during the day as a white dot in the sky.

Venus's orbit lies inside the Earth's orbit, and it goes around the Sun in 224 days, or 7.5 months. The fact that Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, and lies the reason for the peculiarities of its visibility. Like Mercury, Venus can only move away from the Sun. certain distance, which does not exceed 46°. Therefore, it sets no later than 3-4 hours after sunset, and rises no earlier than 4 hours before morning. Even in the weakest telescope, it can be seen that Venus is not a point, but a ball, one side of which is illuminated by the Sun, while the other is plunged into darkness.

If you follow Venus from day to day, you will notice that, like the Moon and Mercury, it goes through the entire change of phases.

Venus is usually easy to see with field glasses. There are people with such sharp eyesight that they can see the crescent of Venus even with the naked eye. This happens for two reasons: firstly, Venus is relatively large, it is only slightly smaller than the globe; secondly, in certain positions it comes close to the Earth, so that the distance to it decreases from 259 to 40 million km. This is the closest one to us heavenly body after the moon.

Through a telescope, Venus appears to be very large, much larger than the Moon to the naked eye. It would seem that on it you can see a lot of all sorts of details, for example, mountains, valleys, seas, rivers. Actually it is not. No matter how much astronomers looked at Venus, they were always disappointed. Visible surface this planet is always white, monotonous, and nothing is visible on it, except for indefinite dull spots. Why is it so? The answer to this question was given by the great Russian scientist M. V. Lomonosov.

Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth. Therefore, sometimes it passes between the Earth and the Sun, and then it can be seen against the background of the dazzling solar disk in the form of a black dot. True, this happens very rarely. The last time Venus passed in front of the Sun was in 1882, and the next time it will be in 2004. The passage of Venus in front of the Sun in 1761 was observed by M. V. Lomonosov among many other scientists. Carefully watching through a telescope how the dark circle of Venus appears against a fiery background solar surface, he noticed something new, before anyone unknown phenomenon. When Venus covered the disk of the Sun by more than a floorboard of its diameter, around the rest of the ball of Venus, which was still against the dark background of the sky, a fiery rim suddenly appeared, thin as a hair. The same was seen when Venus descended from the solar disk. Lomonosov came to the conclusion that the whole thing is in the atmosphere - a layer of gas that surrounds Venus. In this gas Sun rays refract, go around the opaque ball of the planet and appear to the observer in the form of a fiery rim. Summing up his observations, Lomonosov wrote: "The planet Venus is surrounded by a noble air atmosphere..."

It was very important scientific discovery. Copernicus proved that the planets are similar to the Earth in their motion. Galileo, with the first observations through a telescope, established that the planets are dark, cold balls, on which there is day and night. Lomonosov proved that on the planets, as well as on Earth, there can be an air ocean - an atmosphere.

The air ocean of Venus differs in many ways from our earthly atmosphere. We have cloudy days, when a continuous opaque cover of clouds floats in the air, but there is also clear weather, when the Sun shines through the transparent air during the day, and thousands of stars are visible at night. Venus is always cloudy. Its atmosphere is constantly covered with a white cloud cover. We see it when we look at Venus through a telescope.

The solid surface of the planet is inaccessible to observation: it is hidden behind a dense cloudy atmosphere.

And what is under this cloud cover, on the very surface of Venus? Are there continents, seas, oceans, mountains, rivers? We don't know this yet. The cloud cover makes it impossible to notice any details on the planet's surface and find out how fast they move due to the planet's rotation. Therefore, we do not know how fast Venus rotates around its axis. We can only say about this planet that it is very warm on it, much warmer than on Earth, because it is closer to the Sun. And it has also been established that there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Venus. As for the rest, only future researchers will be able to tell about it.

Finding her in the sky is very easy. Everyone happened to notice how sometimes in the evening in a still very bright sky the “evening star” lights up. As the dawn fades, Venus becomes brighter and brighter, and when it gets completely dark and other stars appear, she stands out sharply among them. But Venus does not shine for long. An hour or two passes, and she comes in. In the middle of the night, she never appears, but there is a time when she can be seen in the morning, before dawn, in the role of the “morning star”. It will already be completely dawn, all the other stars will long disappear, and Venus still shines and shines against the bright background of the morning dawn.

In terms of brilliance, Venus is the third luminary of the sky, if the Sun is considered the first, and the second -. It is not surprising that it can sometimes be seen during the day as a white dot in the sky.

The orbit of Venus lies within the orbit of the earth, and it goes around the sun in 224 days, or 7 ½ months. The fact that Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, and lies the reason for the peculiarities of its visibility. Like Mercury, Venus can move away from the Sun only a certain distance, which does not exceed 46 °. Therefore, it sets no later than 3-4 hours after sunset, and rises no earlier than 3-4 hours before morning.

Even in the weakest telescope, it can be seen that Venus is not a point, but a ball, one side of which is illuminated by the Sun, while the other is plunged into darkness.

Watching Venus from day to day, you can see that she, like Moon Mercury, goes through the entire change of phases.

Venus is usually easy to see with field glasses. There are people with such sharp eyesight that they can see the crescent of Venus even with the naked eye. This happens for two reasons: firstly, Venus is relatively large, it is only slightly smaller than the globe; secondly, in certain positions it comes close to the Earth, so that the distance to it decreases from 259 to 40 million km. It is the closest large celestial body to us after the Moon.

Through a telescope, Venus appears to be very large, much larger than the Moon to the naked eye. It would seem that on it you can see a lot of all sorts of details, for example, mountains, valleys, seas, rivers. Actually it is not. No matter how much astronomers looked at Venus, they were always disappointed. The visible surface of this planet is always white, monotonous, and nothing is visible on it, except for indefinite dull spots. Why is it so? The answer to this question was given by the great Russian scientist M. V. Lomonosov.

The passage of Venus in front of the Sun in 1761 was observed by M. V. Lomonosov among many other scientists. Carefully watching through a telescope how the dark circle of Venus appears on the fiery background of the solar surface, he noticed a new, hitherto unknown phenomenon. When Venus covered the disk of the Sun by more than half of its diameter, around the rest of the ball of Venus, which was still against the dark background of the sky, a fiery rim suddenly appeared, thin as a hair. The same was seen when Venus descended from the solar disk. came to the conclusion that the whole thing is in the atmosphere - a layer of gas that surrounds Venus. In this gas, the sun's rays are refracted, go around the opaque ball of the planet and appear to the observer in the form of a fiery rim. Summing up his observations, Lomonosov wrote: "The planet Venus is surrounded by a noble air atmosphere..."

This was a very important scientific discovery. proved that the planets are similar to the Earth in their motion. the first observations through a telescope established that the planets are dark, cold balls, on which there is day and night. Lomonosov proved that on the planets, as well as on Earth, there can be an air ocean - an atmosphere.