This awesome image of Venus was taken by the Magellan spacecraft. Click on image for full size (46K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

Venus is one of the brightest objects in the sky. It is always found near the Sun. It rises and sets each day, so it has the nicknames Morning and Evening Star!

Scientists found that Venus rotates backwards. This means that on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. We've sent a lot of spacecrafts to visit Venus. They found out that Venus' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. This is not good air to breathe!

Magellan went to Venus in 1990. It made a map of the surface of Venus. I guess if we ever visit, we won't get lost!