A message about the planet Venus. Planet Venus is unusual and unknown. How long is a Venusian day?

At the center of the solar system is our daytime star, the Sun. There are 9 large planets orbiting around it together with their satellites:

• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Neptune
• Pluto

The age of the Solar System was determined by scientists based on laboratory isotopic analysis of terrestrial rocks, as well as meteors and lunar soil samples delivered to Earth by spacecraft. It turned out that the oldest of them are about 4.5 billion years old. Therefore, it is believed that all the planets were formed at approximately the same time - 4.5 - 5 billion years ago.

Venus, the second closest planet to the Sun, is almost the same size as Earth, and its mass is more than 80% of Earth's mass. Located closer to the Sun than our planet, Venus receives more than two times more light and heat from it than Earth. However, from the shadow side on Venus The prevailing frost is more than 20 degrees below zero, since the sun's rays do not reach here for a very long time. She has very dense, deep and very cloudy atmosphere, preventing us from seeing the surface of the planet. The atmosphere is a gaseous shell, on Venus, discovered by M.V. Lomonosov in 1761, which also showed the similarity of Venus with the Earth.

The average distance from Venus to the Sun is 108.2 million km; it is practically constant, since Venus's orbit is closer to a circle than that of any other planet. At times, Venus approaches Earth at a distance of less than 40 million km.

The ancient Greeks gave this planet the name of their best goddess Aphrodite, but the Romans then changed it in their own way and called the planet Venus, which, in general, is the same thing. However, this did not happen immediately. At one time it was believed that there were two planets in the sky at once. Or rather, at that time there were still stars, one - dazzlingly bright, was visible in the morning, another, the same - in the evening. They were even called differently, until the Chaldean astronomers, after long observations and even longer reflections, came to the conclusion that the star was still one, which does them credit as great specialists.

The light of Venus is so bright that if there is neither the Sun nor the Moon in the sky, it causes objects to cast shadows. However, when viewed through a telescope, Venus is disappointing, and it is not surprising that until recent years it was considered the “planet of secrets.”

In 1930 some information has appeared about Venus. It was found that its atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide, which can act as a kind of blanket, trapping the sun's heat. Two pictures of the planet were popular. One pictured the surface of Venus as almost completely covered with water, in which primitive life forms could develop - as was the case on Earth billions of years ago. Another imagined Venus as a hot, dry and dusty desert.

The era of automatic space probes began in 1962, when the American Mariner 2 probe passed near Venus and transmitted information that confirmed that its surface was very hot. It was also found that the period of rotation of Venus around its axis is long, about 243 Earth days, longer than the period of revolution around the Sun (224.7 days), therefore, on Venus, “days” are longer than a year and the calendar is completely unusual.

It is now known that Venus rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west, and not from west to east, like the Earth and most other planets. For an observer on the surface of Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, although in reality the cloudy atmosphere completely obscures the sky.

Following Mariner 2, several Soviet automatic vehicles, lowered by parachute through the dense atmosphere, made a soft landing on the surface of Venus. At the same time, a maximum temperature of about 5300C was recorded, and the pressure at the surface was almost 100 times greater than the atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth.

Mariner 10 approached Venus in February 1974 and transmitted the first images of the upper layer of clouds. This device passed near Venus only once - its main target was the innermost planet - Mercury. However, the images were of high quality and showed the striped structure of the clouds. They also confirmed that the rotation period of the cloud top layer is only 4 days, so the structure of the atmosphere of Venus is not similar to that of Earth.

Meanwhile, American radar studies have shown that there are large but small craters on the surface of Venus. The origins of the craters are unknown, but since such a dense atmosphere would be subject to severe erosion, they are unlikely to be very old by "geological" standards. The cause of the craters may be volcanism, so the hypothesis that volcanic processes are occurring on Venus cannot yet be ruled out. Several mountainous areas have also been found on Venus. The largest mountainous region - Ishtar - is twice the size of Tibet. In its center a giant volcanic cone rises to a height of 11 km. The clouds were found to contain large amounts of sulfuric acid (possibly even fluorosulfuric acid).

The next important step was taken in October 1975, when two Soviet spacecraft - "Venera - 9" and "Venera - 10" - made a controlled landing on the surface of the planet and transmitted images to Earth. The images were retransmitted by the orbital compartments of the stations, which remained in near-planetary orbit at an altitude of about 1500 km. It was a triumph for Soviet scientists, even despite the fact that both Venera 9 and Venera 10 transmitted for only no more than an hour, until they ceased to function once and for all due to too high temperatures and pressure.

It turned out that the surface of Venus was strewn with smooth rocky fragments, similar in composition to terrestrial basalts, many of which were about 1 m in diameter.

The surface was well lit: according to the description of Soviet scientists, there was as much light as there is in Moscow on a cloudy summer afternoon, so that searchlights from the devices were not even required. It also turned out that the atmosphere did not have excessively high refractive properties, as expected, and all the details of the landscape were clear. The temperature on the surface of Venus was 4850 degrees Celsius, and the pressure was 90 times higher than the pressure at the surface of the Earth. It was also discovered that the cloud layer ends at an altitude of about 30 km. Below is an area of ​​hot, acrid fog. At altitudes of 50 - 70 km there are powerful cloud layers and hurricane winds blow. The atmosphere on the surface of Venus is very dense (only 10 times less than the density of water).

Venus is not the hospitable world it was once supposed to be. With its atmosphere of carbon dioxide, clouds of sulfuric acid and terrible heat, it is completely unsuitable for humans. Under the weight of this information, some hopes collapsed: after all, less than 20 years ago, many scientists considered Venus a more promising object for space exploration than Mars.

Venus has always attracted the views of writers - science fiction writers, poets, scientists. Much has been written about her and about her and, probably, much more will be written, and it is even possible that someday some of her secrets will be revealed to people.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, the closest planet to Earth, and the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. Sometimes this planet is called the sister of the Earth, which is due to a certain similarity in mass and size. The difference in diameters of the Earth and Venus is 638 km, and the mass of Venus reaches 81.5% of the Earth's. The planet Venus is covered by an impenetrable layer of clouds filled mainly with sulfuric acid.

The planet received this well-known name in honor of the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet Venus is very noticeable in the sky due to its high brightness, so it has been noticed for a long time. Most likely, the brightness and visibility of Venus played a role in the fact that she was named after the goddess of love. So she is associated with love, femininity and romance.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, but the hottest planet in the Solar System.

The length of the day on Venus, i.e. one full revolution around its axis lasts longer than one Venusian year. One axial revolution of the planet takes 244 days, and the orbital path (year) takes 225 days.

Atmospheric pressure is 92 times greater than on Earth.

Venus Research

Several spaceships have already flown to Venus. The first of them, Venera 1, only flew past Venus. Venera-1 is a Russian spacecraft, developed by the Energia rocket and space corporation named after S.P. Korolev (today NPO Energia). The flight of Venera 1 was unsuccessful because communication with the ship was lost. There were other unsuccessful flights. But there were also ships that were able not only to study the chemical composition of the atmosphere, but even to reach the surface itself.

The first ship that was able to conduct atmospheric research was Venera 4. It was launched on June 12, 1967. The mission of Venera 4 was short - the descent module was literally crushed by pressure in the planet's atmosphere, but the orbital module managed to carry out a number of valuable observations and obtain the first data about Venus. This expedition made it possible to determine that the planet's atmosphere consists of 90% carbon dioxide with a small content of oxygen and water vapor.

Atmosphere of Venus

The atmosphere of the planet Venus is divided into several high-altitude layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Above 700 km from the surface, the corona of Venus begins, which consists only of hydrogen and smoothly passes into interplanetary space.

The stratosphere occupies space at an altitude of 70 to 90 km. She's pretty dressed up.

At an altitude of 50-70 km there is a main cloud layer that covers the entire planet in an impenetrable sphere.

At 30-50 km there is sub-block haze.

The opacity of the atmosphere of Venus is explained not so much by the mass or very high density of the gas shell, but mainly by the constantly closed layer of clouds. The main component of the cloud layer is droplets of sulfuric acid, the content of which reaches approximately 75 mass percent. In addition, chlorine- and phosphorus-containing aerosols are also present here. The lower of the three layers of clouds may also contain traces of elemental sulfur.

Larger droplets of sulfuric acid fall as rain, falling just short of the lower edge of the cloud layer, where they evaporate under the influence of high temperatures and then break down into sulfur dioxide, water vapor and oxygen. Once these gases rise to the very top of the clouds, they react and condense there again as sulfuric acid. Sulfur in clouds originally appeared in the form of sulfur dioxide during volcanic eruptions.

Clouds surround Venus in a layer from 50 to 80 kilometers above the surface of the planet and consist mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). These clouds are so dense that they reflect back into space 60% of all the light from the Sun that shines on Venus.

A greenhouse effect is created, and 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.

The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is 90 times greater than on Earth. Therefore, for a long time it was not possible to bring the descent vehicle to the surface of the planet - they were crushed by monstrous pressure.

But people kept sending new devices

The Mariner 10 spacecraft flew by Venus at an altitude of 4000 km in 1967. He received information about the pressure, atmospheric density and composition of the planet.

In 1969, the Soviet Venera 5 and 6 also arrived, which managed to transmit data during 50 minutes of descent. But Soviet scientists did not give up. Venera 7 crashed on the surface, but transmitted 23 minutes of information.

From 1972-1975 The USSR launched three more probes, which managed to obtain the first images of the surface.

Over 4,000 pictures along the way Mercury received Mariner 10. In the late 70s of the 20th century, NASA prepared two probes. One of them was to study the atmosphere and create a surface map, and the second was to enter the atmosphere.

In 1985, the Vega program was launched, where the devices were supposed to explore Halley's comet and go to Venus. They dropped probes, but the atmosphere turned out to be more turbulent and the mechanisms were blown away by powerful winds.

In 1989, Magellan went to Venus with his radar. It spent 4.5 years in orbit and imaged 98% of the surface and 95% of the gravitational field. In the end, it was sent into the atmosphere, where it burned up, but received density data.

Venus was observed in passing by the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft. And in 2007 they sent MESSENGER, which was able to make some measurements on the way to Mercury. The atmosphere and clouds were also monitored by the Venus Express probe in 2006. The mission ended in 2014.

Geology of Venus

Like other terrestrial planets, the planet Venus consists of three layers: crust, mantle and core. It is believed that the interior of Venus (unlike Mercury or Mars) is very similar to the interior of the Earth. Due to the fact that it is not yet possible to compare full-fledged geological studies (field work, so to speak), the true composition of the layers of the planet has not yet been established. It is currently believed that Venus' crust is 50 kilometers thick, its mantle 3,000 kilometers thick, and its core 6,000 kilometers in diameter.

Among the Slavs, Venus was called Zarya-Mertsana

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. Simply put, planetary magnetic fields result from the transfer of heat from inside a 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, that is orbit Venus is the roundest of all the planets in the solar system. 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.

Billions of years ago, Venus' climate may have been similar to Earth's. Scientists believe Venus once had abundant water and oceans, but high temperatures and the greenhouse effect have boiled away the water and the planet's surface is now too hot and hostile to support life.

Characteristics of Venus briefly

Weight: 4.87*10¬24 kg (0.815 earth)
Diameter at the equator: 12102 km
Axle tilt: 177.36°
Density: 5.24 g/cm3
Average surface temperature: +465 °C
Period of rotation around the axis (days): 244 days (retrograde)
Distance from the Sun (average): 0.72 a. e. or 108 million km
Orbital period around the Sun (year): 225 days
Orbital speed: 35 km/s
Orbital eccentricity: e = 0.0068
Orbital inclination to the ecliptic: i = 3.86°
Gravity acceleration: 8.87m/s2
Atmosphere: carbon dioxide (96%), nitrogen (3.4%)
Satellites: no

The planet closest to Earth and 2nd from the Sun. However, before the start of space flights, very little was known about Venus: the entire surface of the planet was hidden by dense clouds that did not allow it to be explored. These clouds are composed of sulfuric acid, which intensely reflect light.

Therefore, it is not possible to see the surface of Venus in visible light. The atmosphere of Venus is 100 times denser than Earth's and consists of carbon dioxide.

Venus is illuminated by the Sun no more than the Earth is illuminated by the Moon on a cloudless night.

However, the Sun heats the planet's atmosphere so much that it is constantly very hot - the temperature rises to 500 degrees. The culprit of such strong heating is the greenhouse effect, which forms the atmosphere from carbon dioxide.

History of discovery

Through a telescope, even a small one, you can easily notice and track the shift in the visible phase of the disk of the planet Venus. They were first observed in 1610 by Galileo. The atmosphere was discovered by M.V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761, when the planet passed across the disk of the Sun. This cosmic event was pre-calculated and eagerly awaited by astronomers around the world. But only Lomonosov focused his attention on the fact that when Venus came into contact with the disk of the Sun, a “hair-thin glow” appeared around the planet. Lomonosov gave a correct scientific explanation of this phenomenon: he considered it a consequence of the refraction of solar rays in the atmosphere of Venus.

“Venus,” he wrote, “is surrounded by a light atmosphere, such (if only not more) than that which surrounds our globe.”

Characteristics

• Distance from the Sun: 108,200,000 km
• Length of day: 117d 0h 0m
• Mass: 4.867E24 kg (0.815 Earth mass)
• Gravity acceleration: 8.87 m/s²
• Circulation period: 225 days

Pressure on the planet Venus reaches 92 earth atmospheres. This means that for every square centimeter a column of gas weighing 92 kilograms presses.

Diameter of Venus only 600 kilometers less than on Earth and is 12104 km, and the gravity is almost the same as on our planet. A kilogram weight on Venus will weigh 850 grams. Thus, Venus is very close to Earth in size, gravity and composition, which is why it is called an “Earth-like” planet, or “sister Earth”.

Venus rotates around its axis in the direction opposite to the direction of other planets in the solar system - from east to west. Only one other planet in our system behaves this way - Uranus. One rotation around its axis is 243 Earth days. But a Venusian year takes only 224.7 Earth days. It turns out that a day on Venus lasts more than a year! On Venus there is a change of day and night, but there is no change of seasons.

Research

Nowadays, the surface of Venus is explored both with the help of spacecraft and with the help of radio emission. Thus, it was noticed that a considerable part of the surface is occupied by hilly plains. The soil and sky above it are orange in color. The surface of the planet is pitted with an abundance of craters formed from the impacts of large meteorites. The diameter of these craters reaches 270 km! It is also common knowledge that Venus has tens of thousands of volcanoes. New research has revealed that some of them are active.

The third brightest object in our sky. Venus is called the Morning Star, and also the Evening Star, because from Earth it looks brightest shortly before sunrise and sunset (in ancient times it was believed that morning and evening Venus were different stars). Venus shines brighter in the morning and evening sky than the brightest stars.

Venus is lonely and has no natural satellites. This is the only planet in the solar system that received its name in honor of a female deity - the rest of the planets are named after male gods.

The planet closest to us has a very beautiful name, but the surface of Venus makes it clear that in fact there is nothing in its character that would resemble the goddess of love. This planet is sometimes called Earth's twin sister. However, the only thing they have in common is their similar sizes.

History of discovery

Even the smallest telescope can track the shift of the disk of this planet. This was first discovered by Galileo back in 1610. The atmosphere was noticed by Lomonosov in 1761, at the moment when it passed by the Sun. It is surprising that such a movement was predicted by calculations, so astronomers were looking forward to this event with special impatience. However, only Lomonosov drew attention to the fact that when the disks of the star and the planet “touched”, a barely noticeable glow appeared around the latter. The observer concluded that this effect arose as a result of the refraction of the Sun's rays in the atmosphere. He believed that the surface of Venus is covered with an atmosphere very similar to that of the earth.

Planet

This planet is located in second place from the Sun. At the same time, Venus is closer than other planets to Earth. Moreover, before space flights became a reality, it was almost impossible to find out about this celestial body. Very little was known:

• It is removed from the star at a distance of 108 million 200 thousand kilometers.
• A day on Venus lasts 117 Earth days.
• It completes a full revolution around our star in almost 225 Earth days.
• Its mass is 0.815% of the mass of the Earth, which is equal to 4.867 * 1024 kg.
• The acceleration of this planet is 8.87 m/s².
• The surface area of ​​Venus is 460.2 million square km.

The diameter of the planet's disk is 600 km less than the Earth's, amounting to 12,104 km. The force of gravity is almost the same as ours - our kilogram will weigh only 850 grams there. Because the planet's size, composition, and gravity are so similar to those of Earth, it is commonly referred to as "Earth-like."

The uniqueness of Venus is that it rotates in a different direction than other planets. Only Uranus “behaves” in a similar way. Venus, whose atmosphere is very different from ours, rotates around its axis in 243 days. The planet manages to complete a revolution around the Sun in 224.7 days, equal to ours. This makes the year on Venus shorter than a day. In addition, day and night on this planet change, but the season is always the same.

Surface

The surface of Venus is mostly hilly and almost flat plains, founded by volcanic eruptions. The remaining 20% ​​of the planet are giant mountains called Ishtar Land, Aphrodite Land, Alpha and Beta regions. These massifs consist mainly of basaltic lava. Many craters have been discovered in these areas, with an average diameter of more than 300 kilometers. Scientists quickly found an answer to the question of why it is impossible to find a smaller crater on Venus. The fact is that meteorites, which could leave a relatively small mark on the surface, simply do not reach it, burning up in the atmosphere.

The surface of Venus is rich in a variety of volcanoes, but it is not yet clear whether eruptions have ended on the planet. This question is of significant importance in the question of the evolution of the planet. The geology of the “twin” is still very poorly understood, but it provides a basic understanding of the structure and processes of formation of this celestial body.

It is still unknown whether the planet's core is a liquid substance or a solid substance. But scientists have found that it does not have electrical conductivity, otherwise Venus would have a magnetic field similar to ours. The absence of such activity remains a mystery to astronomers. The most popular point of view, which more or less explains this phenomenon, is that perhaps the process of solidification of the core has not yet begun, therefore convective jets generating a magnetic field cannot yet be born in it.

The temperature on Venus reaches 475 degrees. For a long time, astronomers could not find an explanation for this. However, today, after a lot of research, it is believed that this is to blame. According to calculations, if our planet moved just 10 million kilometers closer to the star, this effect would get out of control, as a result of which the Earth would simply warm up irreversibly and the death of all living things.

Scientists simulated a situation where the temperature on Venus was not so high, and found that then it would have oceans similar to those on Earth.

There are none on Venus that would need updating in a hundred million years. Judging by the available data, the planet's crust has been motionless for at least 500 million years. However, this does not mean that Venus is stable. Elements rise from its depths, heating the bark and softening it. Therefore, it is likely that the planet’s topography will undergo global changes.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of this planet is very powerful, barely transmitting the light of the Sun. But this light is not like the one we see every day - these are just weak scattered rays. 97% carbon dioxide, almost 3% nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor - this is what Venus “breathes”. The planet's atmosphere is very poor in oxygen, but there are enough various compounds for clouds to form from sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide.

The lower layers of the atmosphere surrounding the planet are practically motionless, but the wind speed in the troposphere is most often above 100 m/s. Such hurricanes merge together, skirting the entire planet in just four of our days.

Research

Nowadays, the planet is explored not only by means of aircraft, but also by means of radio emission. The extremely unfavorable conditions on the planet make its study much more difficult. Nevertheless, over the past 47 years, 19 successful attempts have been made to send devices to the surface of this celestial body. In addition, six space stations have provided valuable information about our closest neighbor.

Since 2005, a ship has been in orbit around the planet, studying the planet and its atmosphere. Scientists hope to use it to discover more than one secret of Venus. Currently, the device has transmitted to Earth a large amount of information that will help scientists learn much more about the planet. For example, from their reports it became known that hydroxyl ions are present in the atmosphere of Venus. Scientists have no idea yet how this can be explained.

One of the questions that experts would like to get an answer to is: what kind of substance at an altitude of about 56-58 kilometers absorbs half of the ultraviolet rays?

Observation

At twilight, Venus is visible very well. Sometimes its sparkle is so bright that shadows are created from objects on Earth (like moonlight). Under suitable conditions, it can be observed even during the daytime.

• The age of the planet by cosmic standards is very small - about 500 million years.
• less than on Earth, gravity is lower, so a person would weigh less on this planet than at home.
• The planet has no satellites.
• A day on the planet is longer than a year.
• Despite its gigantic size, not a single crater on Venus is practically visible, since the planet is well hidden by clouds
• Chemical processes in clouds contribute to the formation of acids.

Now you know a lot of interesting things about the mysterious earthly “double”.

Planet Venus interesting facts. Some you may already know, others should be completely new to you. So read and learn new interesting facts about the “morning star”.

Earth and Venus are very similar in size and mass, and they orbit the Sun in very similar orbits. Its size is only 650 km smaller than the size of the Earth, and its mass is 81.5% of the Earth's mass.

But that's where the similarities end. The atmosphere consists of 96.5% carbon dioxide, and the greenhouse effect raises the temperature to 461 °C.

2. A planet can be so bright that it casts shadows.

Only the Sun and Moon are brighter than Venus. Its brightness can vary from -3.8 to -4.6 magnitudes, but it is always brighter than the brightest stars in the sky.

3. Hostile atmosphere

The mass of the atmosphere is 93 times greater than the Earth's atmosphere. The pressure on the surface is 92 times greater than the pressure on Earth. It is the same as diving a kilometer below the surface of the ocean.

4. It rotates in the opposite direction compared to other planets.

Venus rotates very slowly; a day is 243 Earth days. What's even stranger is that it rotates in the opposite direction compared to all the other planets in the solar system. All planets rotate in a counterclockwise direction. With the exception of the heroine of our article. It rotates clockwise.

5. Many spaceships managed to land on its surface.

At the height of the space race, the Soviet Union launched a series of Venus spacecraft and several successfully landed on its surface.

Venera 8 was the first spacecraft to land on the surface and transmit photographs to Earth.

6. People are used to thinking that the second planet from the Sun is “tropical”.

While we were sending the first spacecraft to study Venus up close, no one really knew what lay beneath the planet's thick clouds. Science fiction writers dreamed of lush tropical jungles. The hellish temperature and dense atmosphere surprised everyone.

7. The planet has no satellites.

Venus looks like our twin. Unlike Earth, it has no moons. Mars has moons, and even Pluto has moons. But she... no.

8. The planet has phases.

Although it looks like a very bright star in the sky, if you can look at it with a telescope, you will see something different. When looking at it through a telescope, you can see that the planet goes through phases, like the Moon. When it is closer, it looks like a thin crescent. And at the maximum distance from the Earth, it becomes dim and in the form of a circle.

9. There are very few craters on its surface.

While the surfaces of Mercury, Mars and the Moon are littered with impact craters, the surface of Venus has relatively few craters. Planetary scientists believe that its surface is only 500 million years old. Constant volcanic activity smooths out and removes any impact craters.

10. The last ship to explore Venus is the Venus Express.

Many spaceships have gone to the planet, but one of the most modern ships worked there until recently. Venus Express was launched on April 11, 2006. He conducted a detailed study of the Venusian atmosphere and clouds, as well as the environment and its surface. The device was discontinued in 2015.