Except for the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest object in
the sky, yet Venus is a planet of paradox. No other planet comes closer to
us or appears larger or brighter, but a telescope shows nothing of its surface
because of a veil of planet covering clouds.
Venus
is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and our Moon. Due to the
fact that its orbit is inside the Earth's, we can see Venus only when we
are looking in the general direction of the Sun. It is visible only during
the first few hours after sunset, when we call it the "evening
star" or before sunrise when we refer to it as "the morning
star." Venus is covered with thick layers of clouds that we are
unable to see through. When viewing Venus through a telescope you can see
that it goes through phases similar to our Moon. It is quite interesting
to see the planet in its crescent phase. In 1982 a Soviet Lander took
photo's of the surface of Venus and revealed flat rocks and soil. The
clouds around Venus are made up primarily of sulfuric acid droplets. Its
atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide.
The Pages of The Gray Wizard
Venus
is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and our Moon. Due to the
fact that its orbit is inside the Earth's, we can see Venus only when we
are looking in the general direction of the Sun. It is visible only during
the first few hours after sunset, when we call it the "evening
star" or before sunrise when we refer to it as "the morning
star." Venus is covered with thick layers of clouds that we are
unable to see through. When viewing Venus through a telescope you can see
that it goes through phases similar to our Moon. It is quite interesting
to see the planet in its crescent phase. In 1982 a Soviet Lander took
photo's of the surface of Venus and revealed flat rocks and soil. The
clouds around Venus are made up primarily of sulfuric acid droplets. Its
atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide.
