Venus is a vacant star. Why is Venus called the morning star? View from Earth

> > Venus – morning and evening Star

Morning and evening star Venus– second planet of the solar system: third brightest in the sky, observations from Earth by the Greeks and Egyptians, two different stars.

You may have heard that in ancient times Venus had two notable nicknames: Morning and Evening Star. Well, we are not talking about a bright star in the sky at all. Where did this even come from?

Venus is the morning and evening star in the sky

Venus's orbit around the Sun follows the Earth's path. Compared to outer planets Solar system, the second is located close to the star. When it is on one side of the Sun, it seems to pull it along with it and becomes visible in the dark sky. At maximum luminosity, Venus appears a couple of minutes after solar disappearance. It was then that she was called the Evening Star.

Venus also moves to the other side of the star. Then it grows in the morning hours before sunrise and is called the Morning Star. When the Sun brightens the sky, we cannot see it.

In fact, the Egyptians and Greeks believed they were observing two different celestial bodies. IN Ancient Greece they were called Phosphorus (giving light) and Hespers (evening star). As a result, they came to the idea that they were dealing with a single object and it was not at all bright Star in the sky.

And the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. This planet is sometimes called sister of the earth, which is associated with a certain similarity in weight 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 was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Even in the times of the ancient Romans, people already knew that this Venus is one of four planets different from Earth. It was the planet's highest luminosity, the prominence of Venus, that played a role in its being named after the goddess of love, and this allowed the planet to be associated with love, femininity and romance for years.

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 out that despite the obvious similarity of these planetary characteristics, the planets are very different from each other. It's about about such parameters as atmosphere, rotation, surface temperature and the presence of satellites (Venus does not have them).

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

A significant contribution to the study of both the atmosphere and surface of Venus was made by the USSR mission of the same name. The first spacecraft sent to the planet and to fly past the planet was Venera-1, developed by the S.P. Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. Korolev (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 to reach the surface itself.

The first spacecraft, launched on June 12, 1967, that was able to conduct atmospheric research was Venera 4. The ship's descent module was in literally crushed by pressure in the planet's atmosphere, but the orbital module managed to make whole line the most valuable observations and obtain the first data on the temperature of Venus, density and chemical composition. The mission determined that the planet's atmosphere consists of 90% carbon dioxide with a low content of oxygen and water vapor.

The orbiter's instruments indicated that Venus has no radiation belts, and the magnetic field is 3000 times weaker than the Earth's magnetic field. Indicator ultraviolet radiation The sun on board the ship made it possible to identify the hydrogen corona of Venus, the hydrogen content of which was approximately 1000 times less than in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere. The data were later confirmed by the Venera 5 and Venera 6 missions.

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

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 the surface of Venus to be heated to the maximum temperatures in our system.

Clouds of Venus

Based on observations from the European Space Agency (ESA) Venus Express satellite, scientists have been able to show for the first time 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 prevent 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 that 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 with 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 jog - 1 meter per second.

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

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

“Our results showed that all these aspects: wind, water content and cloud composition are somehow related to the properties of the surface of Venus itself,” said Jean-Loup Berto of the LATMOS Observatory in France, lead author of the new Venus Express study. "We used observations from spaceship, which covered a period of six years, from 2006 to 2012, and this allowed us to study patterns of long-term weather change on the planet."

Surface of Venus

Before radar studies of the planet, the most valuable data on the surface was obtained with the help of 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 were already out of order, he was able to identify 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 – pneumatic system manifolds 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 – compressed nitrogen cylinder

The subsequent mission "Venera 8" turned out to be even more successful - it was possible to obtain the first surface soil samples. Thanks to the gamma spectrometer installed on the ship, it was possible to determine the content of radioactive elements such as potassium, uranium, and thorium in the rocks. 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 soft-landed on the surface of the planet on October 22 and 25, 1975, respectively.

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

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

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

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

In 1990, he began his work in orbit of Venus spacecraft called Magellan. He managed to take better radar images, which turned out to be much more detailed and informative. For example, it turned out that of the 1000 impact craters that Magellan discovered, not a single one was larger than two kilometers in diameter. This led scientists to believe that any meteorite with a diameter of less than two kilometers simply burned up when passing through the dense Venusian atmosphere.

Due to the thick clouds that shroud Venus, 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 photography and radar work by collecting radiation that is reflected from an object, they have a big difference and it consists in reflecting forms of radiation. Photography captures visible light, while radar mapping captures microwave radiation. The advantage of using radar in the case of Venus was obvious, since microwave radiation can pass through the planet's thick clouds, whereas the light needed for photography is not able to do this.

Thus, additional studies of crater sizes have helped shed light on factors that indicate 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 also no craters of large diameter. 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 the a large number of impact craters on inner planets. This indicates that the surface of Venus has a relatively small geological age.

Study volcanic activity planets made it possible to identify 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 shield volcanoes that also exist on Earth (for example, Mauna Loa), many flat volcanoes have been discovered on Venus. These volcanoes are different from those on Earth because 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 manner.

Geology of Venus

As is the case with other planets terrestrial group Venus is essentially made up of three layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core. However, there is something that is very intriguing - the interior of Venus (unlike or) is very similar to the interior 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 this moment Venus's crust is thought to be 50 kilometers thick, its mantle 3,000 kilometers thick, and its core 6,000 kilometers in diameter.

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

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

Orbit and rotation of Venus

The most remarkable aspect of Venus's orbit is its uniform distance from the Sun. The orbital eccentricity is only .00678, which means that Venus's orbit is the most circular of all the planets. Moreover, such a small eccentricity indicates that the difference between Venus's perihelion (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 about 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 planet's rotation around its axis is counterclockwise when viewed from the "upper" plane of the orbit, but in fact Venus's rotation is retrograde, or clockwise. The reason for this is currently unknown, but there are two popular theories that explain this phenomenon. The first indicates a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance of Venus with the Earth. Proponents of the theory believe that over billions of years, Earth's gravity changed the rotation of Venus to its current state.

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

The second unexpected discovery related to Venus's rotation is its speed.

In order to do full turn around its axis the planet requires about 243 earthly 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 on Venus. Again, no other planet in the solar system has such properties. Scientists associate this feature precisely 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 " morning star" and "evening star". This is due to the fact that representatives of ancient civilizations mistook 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 around the planet's orbit takes 225 Earth days.
  Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is believed that the ancient Romans named it this way because of the planet's high brightness, which in turn may have come from the times of Babylon, whose inhabitants called Venus "the bright queen of the sky."
  Venus has no satellites or rings.
  Billions of years ago, Venus' climate may have been similar to Earth's. Scientists believe that Venus once had big amount waters and oceans, however due to high temperatures and the greenhouse effect, the water has boiled away, and the planet's surface is now too hot and hostile to support life.
  Venus rotates in the opposite direction to the other planets. Most other planets rotate counterclockwise on their axis, but Venus, like Venus, rotates clockwise. This is known as retrograde rotation and may have been caused by an impact with an asteroid or other space object, which changed the direction of its rotation.
  Venus is the most hot planet in the solar system with average temperature surface 462°C. Additionally, Venus does not have a tilt on its axis, which means the planet has no seasons. The atmosphere is very dense and contains 96.5% carbon dioxide, which traps heat and causes 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 happens due to 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 age of the Earth's surface is about 100 million years.)
  Atmosphere pressure Venus is 92 times stronger than Earth. This means that any small asteroids entering Venus's atmosphere will be crushed by the enormous pressure. This explains the absence 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 reasons This is because 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.

Plus

polar Star- perhaps one of the most famous stars in the sky. In popularity it is second only to the Sun, and of the night luminaries it is certainly the most famous. It is not surprising that many people consider it to be something special, standing out either in size or brightness, and endow it in their imagination with various qualities that are not inherent to it at all. So the North Star is surrounded by many myths and misconceptions. And if these misconceptions are not dispelled, in a situation where you need to find it in the sky in order to get your bearings, all these myths can lead to mistakes. And for a lost person in conditions wildlife Such mistakes can be deadly.

So, let's dispel all the myths about the North Star.

Myth 1. The North Star and Venus are the same thing

Most likely, this myth is associated with the apparent size of Venus: it appears larger and brighter compared to other luminaries of the night sky visible from Earth. Since, according to another myth, the North Star is the brightest star in the sky, seeing Venus, a person may think that since this object is the brightest, it means it is the North Star.

In fact, the North Star and Venus are completely different celestial bodies. Venus is a planet solar system, slightly smaller in size than the Earth, and the North Star is precisely a star whose radius is 30 times the radius of our Sun. The distance from Earth to Venus is on average 37.5 million times less than the distance to the North Star (on average - because the distance to Venus varies significantly due to the movement of the planets in orbit, but the minimum difference is 15 million times). The main thing is that in the sky these two luminaries are located in different places and are usually clearly visible. If you know how to find the North Star and know where Venus is in the sky in a particular area at a particular time of year, you can find both of them and be convinced that these are two different celestial bodies.

A situation that can be observed in the western part of Russia in winter - both Venus and Kinosura are visible above the horizon at the same time

On a note

A little less often, this misconception is found in another formulation: The North Star is a planet. This is also a myth: the North Star is just that, a star. Moreover, modern research show what it is the whole system of the three stars that today have even been photographed using powerful telescopes. Therefore, calling it a planet is completely wrong.

A telescope shot of the North Star: two companion stars are visible, which merge into one to the naked eye.

Fact: The North Star and Venus are not the same thing, but completely different celestial objects.

And since we’re talking about brightness, let’s remember another common myth...

Myth 2. Polaris is the brightest star in the sky

Polaris is far from the brightest star in the night sky. The brightest star in the visible spectrum is Sirius from the constellation Canis Major, several other stars in the night sky are brighter than Polaris, which often leads to orientation errors for beginners: they go to the brightest star, considering it Polaris, and deviate from the northern direction.

By the way, this is where the legs of another myth “grow”: Sirius is the North Star. It is too blunder: Sirius has nothing to do with Polarissima. Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major, the North Star is in the constellation Ursa Minor, and the distance between these stars is always significant. Sirius is not the North Star, never has been and never will be.

Also a typical winter picture of the starry sky with Kinosura and Sirius

The name of the true northern Pole Star is Kinosura.

On a note

For the same reason, there is a common (albeit to a lesser extent) misconception that Vega is the North Star. Vega also refers to bright stars, its brightness is greater than the brightness of Polar. However, this is a completely different luminary that has nothing to do with Kinosura.

Fact: Polaris is not the brightest star in the night sky. The brightness of many stars is significantly greater, and therefore looking for the brightest star to orient yourself is dangerous due to the possibility of error.

And again, from one myth the following follows: since we have already said about the constellations, let us remember the common misconception about the location of the North Star.

Myth 3. The North Star is located in the constellation Ursa Major

Polaris is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, but due to the weak brightness of other stars in this constellation in many cases (especially in populated areas) except for the North Star itself, none of the other stars in this constellation are visible. At the same time, next to it there is a clearly visible and recognizable constellation Ursa Major with several bright luminaries. Due to this, by the way, it is by the constellation Ursa Major that Kinosura is most often found in the sky. It is not surprising that, without going into details, many people tend to classify the North Star as Ursa Major. This is actually a mistake: Polaris is the brightest star (alpha).

Fact: The North Star is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, and Big Dipper It is only used to find it.

Myth 4. The North Star is visible from anywhere on the planet

The North Star is visible only from the northern hemisphere, unless weather conditions, terrain and other factors interfere with this, and in the northern hemisphere it can be seen from almost any place with an open starry sky. visible only near the equator (up to 85 km), either in reflection in the atmosphere due to the phenomenon of refraction, or when climbing mountains or from an airplane. It is not visible in the rest of the Southern Hemisphere.

The position of the North Star above the horizon at latitude 4 degrees north (Africa). Even here the star barely appears above the horizon, despite the fact that this is already the northern hemisphere.

This myth is connected with the fact that historically it turned out that the North Star was considered as the main guiding, navigational celestial body. A person who is poorly versed in the matter may decide that since ancient times, people could only use a luminary that could be seen from everywhere as such a guiding star.

Indeed, in ancient world, where the North Star had already acquired the status of the main navigation star, it was visible from everywhere, at least because ancient developed civilizations were concentrated in the northern hemisphere and people here always saw it. And the subsequent discovery of lands south of the equator, where Kinosura is hidden behind the horizon, could no longer change attitudes towards it.

Fact: The North Star is visible from anywhere in the northern hemisphere of the planet. It is not visible on the southern half of the planet.

Myth 5. The North Star points south

The polar star from the constellation Ursa Minor points north. IN southern hemisphere Its own polarissima, Sigma of the Octantus constellation, points strictly south, but it is much inferior in brightness to Kinosura, therefore it is rarely used in navigation and is not so popular. In fact, it is rarely even called the North Star. When we talk about the North Star, we usually mean North Polarissima, which points due north.

On a note

In general, it is incorrect to say that this or that star is located in the south or north. South and north are directions that are relevant only on planet Earth. Any celestial bodies are located outside the Earth, and very far from it, and saying, for example, that the North Star is in the south is the same as, say, a beetle figuring out which side of the tree the beach is on.

Fact: The most famous North Star points north. Polarissima in the southern hemisphere points south, but is much less commonly called the South Pole Star.

The second planet from the Sun is Venus. Unlike Mercury, it is very easy to find in the sky. Everyone has noticed how sometimes in the evening the sky lights up in a still very bright sky. evening star". As the dawn fades, Venus becomes brighter and brighter, and when it gets completely dark and many stars appear, it stands out sharply among them. But Venus does not shine for long. An hour or two passes and she comes in. She never appears in the middle of the night, but there is a time when she can be seen in the morning, before dawn, in the role of "morning star" It’s already dawn, all the stars have long since disappeared, and the beautiful Venus is shining and shining 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 realized that it was the same luminary, the beauty of the sky, " evening and morning starEvening star"has been sung more than once by poets and composers, described in the works of great writers, and depicted in paintings by famous artists.

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

The orbit of Venus lies within earth's orbit, and it circles the Sun in 224 days, or 7.5 months. The fact that Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth is the reason for the peculiarities of its visibility. Like Mercury, Venus can only move away from the Sun by 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 with the weakest telescope it is clear that Venus is not a point, but a ball, one side of which is illuminated by the Sun, while the other is immersed in darkness.

Watching Venus day after day, you will notice that it, like the Moon and Mercury, goes through the entire change of phases.

Venus is usually easy to see with field binoculars. There are people with such acute vision 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 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 large one to us heavenly body after the moon.

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

Venus is closer to the Sun than 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 the telescope how the dark circle of Venus appears against the fiery background solar surface, he noticed something new, before no one unknown phenomenon. When Venus covered the disk of the Sun more than half its diameter, a fiery rim, as thin as hair, suddenly appeared around the rest of the globe of Venus, which was still against the dark background of the sky. The same thing was visible when Venus left the solar disk. Lomonosov came to the conclusion that it was all about the atmosphere - the layer of gas that surrounds Venus. In this gas Sun rays refract, bend 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's first observations through a telescope established that the planets are dark, cold balls on which there is day and night. Lomonosov proved that on planets, as on Earth, there can be an ocean of air - an atmosphere.

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

The solid surface of the planet turns out to be inaccessible for 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. Cloud cover makes it impossible to spot any features on the planet's surface and figure out how quickly they are moving due to the planet's rotation. Therefore, we do not know at what speed Venus rotates around its axis. About this planet we can only say that it is very warm, much warmer than on Earth, because it is closer to the Sun. 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.

Let's try to figure out what significance the morning and evening stars have in astrology. A year and a half ago, Dane Rudhyar’s book “The Astrological Key to the Study of Psychological Complexes” appeared on book shelves. Rudhyar's books have always had great importance as a source of ideas and inspiration in the direction of astrology that is being developed by A.F. Semenko.

Which planet is considered a morning star and which is an evening star in astrology

This book, despite its small size, contained a fair amount of interesting thoughts (although it was felt that Rudhyar did not write it in the best state of mind).

One of the ideas was the possibility of four different approaches to the interpretation of the principle of a planet depending on whether it is: a) a morning or evening star; b) retrograde or direct.

Morning and evening star. If in natal chart For humans, the planet is the “morning star”, i.e. has a shorter longitude than the Sun, and as a result appears in the east before it, then we can say that the principle of this planet is brought forward, to the vanguard of the human personality.

This planet symbolizes, as it were, a tool with which a person makes his way through life. There, everything is still unknown ahead, there is no one to ask, no one to consult with, and a person is forced to rely mainly on his own perception of new experience. This means that in the field of management of this planet, a person is characterized by independence, activity and research passion with a certain narrowness of his field of vision.

If the morning star is Mercury

Rudhyar calls Mercury in this position Mercury-Prometheus, and its owner is focused on active use intelligence, communication and other Mercurian projections for obtaining information in the process of independent exploration of the world.

Such a person is more likely to find out the answer to a question himself than to ask someone else’s opinion. He is used to relying on his mind and is not afraid to step into the unknown.

For a person with Promethean Mercury, it is not very important how significant the knowledge he has acquired for others is, the main thing is that it is interesting for himself. He is like a miner at the pit, busy mining coal; for him it is not so important what happens to the coal later, on the surface of the earth.

If the morning star is Venus

Rudhyar calls Venus the morning star Venus-Lucifer. Its owner is characterized by activity in gaining emotional experience. He takes the first step in a relationship, not really focusing on generally accepted norms, he has his own, individual ideas about beauty, about the value of things. He is a researcher and experimenter in art, fashion, and relationships between people.

What does the evening star symbolize?

On the contrary, if the planet is an “evening star”, i.e. has a greater longitude than the Sun, and therefore sets in the evening sky later than the Sun, the projections of this planet in a person’s personality are characterized by less activity, but a larger field of view, greater coverage.

This is like the rear of the army, absorbing trophies obtained by others, keeping records and systematization of them, and providing the advancing units with everything they need.

A person who owns such a planet is not inclined to take active actions in the field of its management to gain new experience. He would rather listen to the experience gained by other people, compare different opinions, bring them into the system and draw conclusions for himself.

If the evening star is Mercury

Rudhyar calls Mercury in this position Mercury-Epimetheus, and a person who has such Mercury in the natal chart is not a miner of knowledge, a pioneer new road through the jungle of the unknown. He is more of a cartographer, mapping lands discovered by others.

His mind is systematic and analytical. He is a storehouse of various knowledge, and their objective usefulness is important to him, and not just subjective interest. He classifies, systematizes the information obtained, and as a result receives new meaning.

If the evening star is Venus

Rudhyar gives the name Venus - the evening star - Venus-Hesperus. Holders of this type of Venus in relationships, in fashion, in their approach to values ​​tend to listen to the opinions of society and other people. They are less purposeful, more prone to diversity in emotional experience, to doubts and generalizations.