Venus is known as the goddess of love and beauty. The ancients knew Venus as being the brightest of all the planets. In fact, with exception of the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky.
Mariner 2 visited Venus in 1962. There were other missions that visited Venus, as well. These included Pioneer Venus and the Soviet Venera 7 and Venera 9.
Venus rotates so slowly that it takes 243 Earth days to equal one Venetian day. With the synchronization of its orbit, the same side always faces the Earth when they are at their closest.
Venus is often referred to as Earth's sister planet, or twin. They both are very similar. Venus is only 95% of the Earths' diameter and 80% of its mass. Both have very few craters and their densities and compositions are similar.
They differ in that the atmosphere of Venus is composed largely of sulfuric acid. It is because of this that we cannot see its surface. Because of this atmosphere, a massive greenhouse effect takes place that holds too much heat in, raising it to over 400 degrees. That is hot enough to melt lead! Although it is twice as far from the sun, Venus is hotter than Mercury.
Cool Facts about Venus
Venus Websites
Exploring the Planets - Venus
NASA Planetary Photojournal: Venus
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