Explore
Venus
It's our nearest neighbor and a near twin to Earth in size and composition. But, compared to the rest of the terrestrial worlds, we know little about Venus. What makes the markings in its clouds? How did its history diverge from Earth's to lead to its hellish climate? Why does it have so many volcanoes? Are any of those volcanoes active today? What is its surface made of? Current missions like Venus Express and Akatsuki aim to understand its atmosphere, but no one is currently planning to venture beneath its clouds to explore its surface.
Recent Blog Articles About Venus
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/03/05 04:15 CST
Each Magellan images of Venus seems to be a work of abstract art.
Two possible futures for Akatsuki
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/05 12:02 CST
There are two intriguing possibilities being discussed in the Japanese media for what to do with Akatsuki, a space probe in orbit near Venus with a fully functional, highly capable suite of cameras but a damaged main engine.
Transit of Venus June 5: Why Should You Care and How to Observe
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2012/06/02 01:56 CDT | 2 comments
A rare astronomical event occurs June 5/6. Find out why you should care and how to observe it.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/05/02 11:26 CDT
Space.com has taken advantage of the infinitely scrollable nature of Web pages to produce a really cool infographic on the scales of orbital distances in the solar system.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/07/03 04:04 CDT | 2 comments
Talk about changing climates on this world and others brought 600 people to the Boulder Theater.
Some Details About Transits of Venus
Posted by David Shortt on 2012/05/22 06:02 CDT | 2 comments
The upcoming rare transit of Venus is one step in a long dance among Earth, Venus and the Sun. Transits of Venus follow a peculiar pattern—two transits 8 years apart, then 105.5 years with no transits, then two transits 8 years apart, then 121.5 years with no transits, for a total cycle of 243 years—and thereby hangs a tale.
Results of ten Venus years of cloud tracking by Venus Express
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/08/29 10:55 CDT | 4 comments
What Venus Express' Visual Monitoring Camera images of Venus have taught us about the motions of Venus' atmosphere.
Pretty picture: tessera terrain on Venus
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/07 04:18 CST | 1 comments
In which I dive into the Magellan radar data set and come up with some images of an unusual and possibly unique solar system terrain: tessera.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/04/08 09:12 CDT | 4 comments
Dispatches from five different worlds--all sent by robotic spacecraft on the same day.
Not Necessarily Your Last Venus Transit!
Posted by Jim Bell on 2012/06/04 11:24 CDT | 3 comments
Unless you are lucky and healthy enough to live for another 105 years, tomorrow will be your last chance to see a Venus transit from the surface of the Earth. But this need not be the last transit of Venus that you will ever see.
JOIN THE
PLANETARY SOCIETY
Our Curiosity Knows No Bounds!
Become a member of The Planetary Society and together we will create the future of space exploration.
Support our Asteroid Hunters
They are Watching the Skies for You!
Our researchers, worldwide, do absolutely critical work.
Asteroid 2012DA14 was a close one.
It missed us. But there are more out there.
Connect With Us
Facebook! Twitter! Google+ and more…
Continue the conversation with our online community!
