Harsh Venus
Written and Illustrated by William McEachern
The jewel in the sky
People used to call Venus the jewel of the sky. Venus glows almost as bright as the moon. It was named Venus because they named it after the goddess of Love and Beauty. Her name was Venus. Venus is sometimes low in the evening sky. Sometimes Venus can be seen before sunrise.
Old Ideas vs Reality
Egyptians had old ideas about Venus but they were false. People thought Venus was two different stars. The Maya thought Venus was the sun’s brother. Venus has phases like the moon and only one side of it is lit at a time. There are no water clouds on Venus. It is 870 degrees on Venus. That’s enough to melt lead.
A Closer Look
Looking closer at Venus it is surrounded by thick clouds. Venus has phases like the moon and only one side of it is lit at a time. No telescopes could make it all the way through Venus’s thick clouds. The first telescopes were invented in 1800s. Venus is too hot and unable to support living things. The US and Europe launched the Cassini Orbiter on October 15, 1997 to map Venus’ surface. The Venera 7 was the first spacecraft to successfully land on another planet launched by the Russian CCCP.
Looking For The Truth
People thought Earth and Venus were alike because they were almost the same size. People found out Venus and Earth are not alike because Venus has an all desert land form. Astronomers had many ideas about Venus. They thought Venus had water but it’s really a complete desert. Astronomers also thought Venus had living things but they haven’t found any. Venus is the most harsh planet.