The Venus Page
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The planet Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is easily seen from Earth in either the eastern sky in early morning or the western sky in the evening. The planet is covered by a dense layer of clouds so that we cannot see its surface. Venus is similar to Earth in size but other than that it has many differences. For one, the planet rotates from east to west instead of from west to east. Also it rotates on its axis very slowly so that its day is equal to 243 of our days. Venus takes 225 earth days to revolve around the Sun. Venus has been visited by more than 20 space probes such as Mariner, Pioneer Venus and Magellan from the United States and several Venera landers sent by the former Soviet Union. Currently the European Space Agency has its Venus Express spacecraft in orbit around the planet gathering scientific data.
For more information on Earth's neighboring planet, please visit the following websites below.
7. Mariner V: Plasma and Magnetic Fields Observed near Venus
NEWS STORIES ON VENUS
1. The Glow of Hydroxyl - Key Molecule Discovered in Venus's Atmosphere - May 22, 2008
2. Earth-like Venus - New Map Hints at Venus's Wet, Volcanic Past - July 15, 2009
3. NASA Funded Research Suggests Venus is Geologically Alive - Scientists have detected for the first time clear signs of recent lava flows on surface of Venus - April 8, 2010
4. Was Venus Once a Habitable Planet? - ESA's Venus Express is Helping Scientists Investigate Whether Venus Once Had Oceans - June 26, 2010