VENUS

Venus, the jewel of the sky, was once known by ancient astronomers as the morning and evening star. Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is veiled by a thick swirling cloud cover. As the goddess of love, Venus is the "queen of pleasure" and mother of the Roman people.Venus is also a nature goddess, associated with the arrival of spring. She brings joy to gods and humans.

Astronomers refer to Venus as Earth's sister planet. Both are similar in size, mass, density, and volume. However, during the last few years scientists have found that the kinship ends here. Venus is very different from Earth. It has no oceans and is surrounded by a heavy atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide with virtually no water vapor. Its clouds are composed of sulfuric acid droplets. At the surface, the atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of the Earth's at sea_level.

Cloud cover of Venus.