Venus has been called the "Morning Star" because it's often seen near the Sun as dawn breaks.  It's the closest planet to Earth, both in distance and in size, which is almost that of Earth.  Venus has sometimes been called the "Greenhouse" planet, because it's shrouded in clouds of sulphuric acid, causing a buildup of surface temperatures in the area of 450 degrees.  92% of its atmosphere is believed to be Carbon Dioxide.  Only about 2% of the sunlight is believed to reach the planet surface due to the thick clouds.

In 1970 a Russian craft landed on Venus, but only lasted about an hour before the heat and atmospheric pressure made it fail.  The spacecraft Magellan made detailed radar maps of the surface in 1994.

More information on Venus:

http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/choices/venus1.htm

http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/venus.html
 

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Page by Francis Perry, April 2002