A global view of the surface of Venus. Click on image for full size version (138K GIF) Image from: NASA

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's closest neighbor in the solar system. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and sometimes looks like a bright star in the morning or evening sky. The planet is a little smaller than Earth, and is similar to Earth inside. We can't see the surface of Venus from Earth, because it is covered with thick clouds. However, space missions to Venus have shown us that its surface is covered with craters, volcanoes, mountains, and big lava plains. The surface of Venus is not where you'd like to be, with temperatures that can melt lead, an atmosphere so thick it would crush you, and clouds of sulfuric acid that smell like rotten eggs to top it off!

A global view of the surface of Venus from Magellan. Click on image for full size version (138K GIF) Image from: NASA

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's closest neighbor in the solar system. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and sometimes looks like a bright star in the morning or evening sky. The planet is slightly smaller than Earth, and its interior is similar to Earth. We can't see the surface of Venus from Earth, because it is covered with thick clouds that strongly reflect sunlight. However, space missions to Venus have shown us that its surface is covered with craters, over 1600 major volcanoes, mountains, large highland terrains, and vast lava plains. The surface of Venus is not where you'd like to be, with temperatures reaching more than 450C (approaching 900F - high enough to melt lead), an atmosphere 90 times heavier than our own, and clouds of sulfuric acid floating around to top it off!

A global view of the surface of Venus from Magellan. Click on image for full size version (138K GIF) Image from: NASA

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's neighbor in the solar system. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and sometimes looks like a bright star in the morning or evening sky. We can't see the surface of the planet because it has a very thick atmosphere filled with clouds that strongly reflect sunlight. Observations of Venus in the ultraviolet show cloud features that relate to characteristics of the planet's atmosphere. Venus is slightly smaller than Earth, and considering its neighboring position in the solar system might be expected to be similar to Earth. We think that the internal structure of Venus is similar to Earth, with a metallic core, rocky mantle, and crust. The atmosphere of Venus produces hostile conditions at the planet's surface, where temperatures can reach more than 460C (900F), atmospheric pressure is 90 times that at the Earth's surface, and clouds filled with sulfuric acid surround the planet. Nonetheless, space missions sent to Venus have managed to land on and photograph the surface while the Magellan spacecraft mapped the surface of the planet from above. These maps reveal a surface covered with craters, over 1600 major volcanoes, mountains, large highland terrains, and vast lava plains.