How to View Venus

Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is one of the four terrestrial planets (the others are Mercury, Earth and Mars). Venus is the brightest object in the sky next to the sun. It is a great planet to see when stargazing because it is so visible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Binoculars
• Telescope

Become an Expert on Venus

1. Know Venus’ location. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and between Mercury and the Earth. It is 41,840,000 miles from Earth at its orbits closest point. Venus is about 100 times farther away from Earth than the moon is.
2. Understand Venus’ history. It is believed that Venus, like Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. It is also believed that Venus was once covered in seas of water at temperatures close to boiling. These seas are thought to have been there for billions of years, but with time and the intense heat of the planet, they dried up. Venus is one of the planets that has been known since ancient times.
3. Know about the atmosphere of Venus. Made from about 95 percent carbon dioxide, Venus’ atmosphere is also composed of nitrogen sulfuric acid and several other trace elements which are noxious gases.
4. Understand the similarities Venus has with Earth. Often regarded as Earth’s sister planet, Venus has several similarities to our planet. It is nearly the same size. Venus has about 95 percent of the Earth’s diameter and approximately 80 percent of the Earth’s mass. They both have few craters and there are similarities in both their composition and density. It was once thought that because of the thick clouds on Venus and the similarities it has with Earth that Venus could be something like Earth—-and maybe even have some existing life forms. With more advanced research, however, it was discovered that Venus was probably the least likely planet in the entire solar system where life could exist.
5. Know about Venus’ orbit. Due to its very slow orbit, a day on Venus is equal to 243 days on earth. It takes Venus 225 earth days to orbit the sun. It has a retrograde orbit that is opposite the earth’s and most of the other planets. Due to Venus orbit and rotation, the same side of Venus is visible to earth, no matter when we look or where we look from.
6. Understand the planet’s surface conditions. Venus has been called a burning desert world yet it has a temperature that ranges from a fiery 500 degrees to a freezing 32 below. The surface is covered in a thick layer of clouds composed of bitter sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide. These clouds create a greenhouse effect which creates the planet’s intense heat. There are strong winds above the clouds but very little wind on the surface. Venus’ surface consists mainly of endlessly rolling plains.
7. Know how to view Venus. Known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star, Venus appears in the East at sunrise and in the west an sunset. It cannot be seen at all in the middle of the night. Venus appears to the naked eye to be a huge bright star. Actually the planet is a beautiful deep blue, but the cloud cover hides the depth of its color.
8. Remember the facts. Venus is the second planet from the sun and it’s called Earth’s twin because it’s similar in size and mass. A thick cloud covering of noxious gases covers the surface which is mostly rolling plains. You can only see one side of Venus from anywhere on earth. It’s the brightest object in the sky besides the sun so it’s one of the easiest to see.