Why is Venus called the morning star? Evening Star: Venus near inferior conjunction to the Sun.

At the North Pole

18 h 11 min 2 s
272.76° Declination at the North Pole 67.16° Albedo 0,65 Surface temperature 737 K
(464 °C) Apparent magnitude −4,7 Angular size 9,7" - 66,0" Atmosphere Surface pressure 9.3 MPa Atmospheric composition ~96.5% Ang. gas
~3.5% Nitrogen
0.015% Sulfur dioxide
0.007% Argon
0.002% Water vapor
0.0017% Carbon monoxide
0.0012% Helium
0.0007% Neon
(trace) Carbon sulphide
(traces) Hydrogen chloride
(traces) Hydrogen fluoride

Venus- the second inner planet of the Solar system with an orbital period of 224.7 Earth days. The planet got its name in honor of Venus, the goddess of love from the Roman pantheon. Her astronomical symbol is a stylized version of a lady's mirror - an attribute of the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is the third brightest object in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon and reaches an apparent magnitude of −4.6. Because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it never appears too far from the Sun: the maximum angular distance between it and the Sun is 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or some time after sunset, which gave rise to the name Evening star or Morning star.

Venus is classified as an Earth-like planet and is sometimes called "Earth's sister" because the two planets are similar in size, gravity, and composition. However, the conditions on the two planets are very different. The surface of Venus is hidden by extremely thick clouds of sulfuric acid clouds with high reflective characteristics, which makes it impossible to see the surface in visible light (but its atmosphere is transparent to radio waves, with the help of which the planet's topography was subsequently studied). Disputes about what lies beneath Venus's thick clouds continued into the twentieth century, until many of Venus's secrets were revealed by planetary science. Venus has the densest atmosphere among other Earth-like planets, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide. This is explained by the fact that on Venus there is no carbon cycle and no organic life that could process it into biomass.

In ancient times, Venus is believed to have become so hot that the Earth-like oceans it is thought to have evaporated completely, leaving behind a desert landscape with many slab-like rocks. One hypothesis suggests that water vapor, due to the weakness magnetic field rose so high above the surface that it was carried by the solar wind into interplanetary space.

Basics

The average distance of Venus from the Sun is 108 million km (0.723 AU). Its orbit is very close to circular - the eccentricity is only 0.0068. The period of revolution around the Sun is 224.7 days; average orbital speed - 35 km/s. The inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic plane is 3.4°.

Comparative sizes of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

Venus rotates around its axis, tilted 2° from the perpendicular to the orbital plane, from east to west, i.e. in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of most planets. One revolution around its axis takes 243.02 days. The combination of these movements gives the value of a solar day on the planet 116.8 Earth days. It is interesting that Venus completes one revolution around its axis in relation to the Earth in 146 days, and the synodic period is 584 days, i.e. exactly four times longer. As a result, at each inferior conjunction, Venus faces the Earth with the same side. It is not yet known whether this is a coincidence, or whether the gravitational attraction of Earth and Venus is at work here.

Venus is quite close in size to Earth. The radius of the planet is 6051.8 km (95% of the Earth), mass - 4.87 × 10 24 kg (81.5% of the Earth), average density - 5.24 g / cm³. The acceleration of gravity is 8.87 m/s², the second escape velocity is 10.46 km/s.

Atmosphere

The wind, very weak at the surface of the planet (no more than 1 m/s), near the equator at an altitude of over 50 km intensifies to 150-300 m/s. Observations from automatic space stations found in the atmosphere of a thunderstorm.

Surface and internal structure

Internal structure of Venus

Exploration of the surface of Venus became possible with the development of radar methods. Most detailed map compiled by the American Magellan apparatus, which photographed 98% of the planet's surface. Mapping has revealed extensive elevations on Venus. The largest of them are the Land of Ishtar and the Land of Aphrodite, comparable in size to the earth's continents. Numerous craters have also been identified on the surface of the planet. They probably formed when Venus's atmosphere was less dense. A significant part of the planet's surface is geologically young (about 500 million years). 90% of the planet's surface is covered with solidified basaltic lava.

Several models offered internal structure Venus. According to the most realistic of them, Venus has three shells. The first - the crust - is approximately 16 km thick. Next is the mantle, a silicate shell that extends to a depth of about 3,300 km to the border with the iron core, the mass of which is about a quarter of the total mass of the planet. Since the planet’s own magnetic field is absent, it should be assumed that there is no movement of charged particles in the iron core - electric current, causing a magnetic field, therefore, the movement of matter in the core does not occur, that is, it is in solid state. The density at the center of the planet reaches 14 g/cm³.

It is interesting that all the details of the relief of Venus are female names, with the exception of the highest mountain range on the planet, located on Ishtar Earth near the Lakshmi Plateau and named after James Maxwell.

Relief

Craters on the surface of Venus

Image of the surface of Venus based on radar data.

Impact craters are a rare element of the Venusian landscape. There are only about 1,000 craters on the entire planet. The picture shows two craters with diameters of about 40 - 50 km. Inner area filled with lava. The "petals" around craters are areas covered with crushed rock thrown out during the explosion that formed the crater.

Observing Venus

View from Earth

Venus is easy to recognize because it is much brighter than the brightest stars. Distinctive feature the planet is its level white. Venus, like Mercury, does not move very far from the Sun in the sky. At moments of elongation, Venus can move away from our star by a maximum of 48°. Like Mercury, Venus has periods of morning and evening visibility: in ancient times it was believed that the morning and evening of Venus were different stars. Venus is the third brightest object in our sky. During periods of visibility, its maximum brightness is about m = −4.4.

In a telescope, even a small one, you can easily see and observe the change visible phase disk of the planet. It was first observed in 1610 by Galileo.

Venus next to the Sun, obscured by the Moon. Shot of Clementine's apparatus

Walking across the disk of the Sun

Venus on the disk of the Sun

Venus in front of the Sun. Video

Since Venus is inner planet Solar system in relation to the Earth, its inhabitant can observe the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun, when from the Earth through a telescope this planet appears as a small black disk against the background of a huge star. However this astronomical phenomenon- one of the rarest possible for observation from the surface of the Earth. Over the course of approximately two and a half centuries, four passages occur - two in December and two in June. The next one will happen on June 6, 2012.

The passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun was first observed on December 4, 1639 by the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks (-) He also pre-calculated this phenomenon.

Of particular interest to science were the observations of the “phenomenon of Venus on the Sun” made by M. V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761. This cosmic phenomenon was also calculated in advance and eagerly awaited by astronomers around the world. Its study was required to determine parallax, which made it possible to clarify the distance from the Earth to the Sun (using the method developed by the English astronomer E. Halley), which required organizing observations from different geographical points on the surface globe- joint efforts of scientists from many countries.

Similar visual studies were carried out at 40 points with the participation of 112 people. On the territory of Russia, their organizer was M.V. Lomonosov, who addressed the Senate on March 27 with a report justifying the need to equip astronomical expeditions to Siberia for this purpose, petitioned for the allocation cash for this expensive undertaking, he compiled manuals for observers, etc. The result of his efforts was the direction of the expedition of N. I. Popov to Irkutsk and S. Ya Rumovsky to Selenginsk. It also cost him considerable effort to organize observations in St. Petersburg, at the Academic Observatory, with the participation of A. D. Krasilnikov and N. G. Kurganov. Their task was to observe the contacts of Venus and the Sun - the visual contact of the edges of their disks. M.V. Lomonosov, who was most interested in the physical side of the phenomenon, conducting independent observations in his home observatory, discovered a light ring around Venus.

This passage was observed all over the world, but only M.V. Lomonosov drew attention to the fact that when Venus came into contact with the disk of the Sun, a “thin, hair-like glow” appeared around the planet. The same light halo was observed during the descent of Venus from the solar disk.

M.V. Lomonosov gave the correct scientific explanation this phenomenon, considering it the result of refraction sun rays in the atmosphere of Venus. “The planet Venus,” he wrote, “is surrounded by noble air atmosphere, such (if only not more) than that which is poured around our globe.” Thus, for the first time in the history of astronomy, even a hundred years before the discovery of spectral analysis, the physical study of the planets began. At that time about the planets solar system almost nothing was known. Therefore, M.V. Lomonosov considered the presence of an atmosphere on Venus as indisputable evidence of the similarity of the planets and, in particular, the similarity between Venus and Earth. The effect was seen by many observers: Chappe D'Auteroche, S. Ya. Rumovsky, L. V. Vargentin, T. O. Bergman, but only M. V. Lomonosov interpreted it correctly. In astronomy, this phenomenon of light scattering, the reflection of light rays during grazing incidence (in M.V. Lomonosov - “bump”), received its name - “ Lomonosov phenomenon»

An interesting second effect was observed by astronomers as the disk of Venus approached the outer edge of the solar disk or moved away from it. This phenomenon, also discovered by M.V. Lomonosov, was not satisfactorily interpreted, and it, apparently, should be regarded as a mirror reflection of the Sun by the atmosphere of the planet - it is especially great at small grazing angles, when Venus is near the Sun. The scientist describes it as follows:

Exploring the planet using spacecraft

Venus has been studied quite intensively using spacecraft. The first spacecraft intended to study Venus was the Soviet Venera-1. After an attempt to reach Venus with this device, launched on February 12, the Soviet devices of the Venera, Vega series, and the American Mariner, Pioneer-Venera-1, Pioneer-Venera-2, and Magellan series were sent to the planet. The Venera 9 and Venera 10 spacecraft transmitted the first photographs of the surface of Venus to Earth; "Venera-13" and "Venera-14" transmitted color images from the surface of Venus. However, the conditions on the surface of Venus are such that none of the spacecraft worked on the planet for more than two hours. In 2016, Roscosmos plans to launch a more durable probe that will operate on the surface of the planet for at least a day.

More information

Satellite of Venus

Venus (like Mars and Earth) has a quasi-satellite, asteroid 2002 VE68, orbiting the Sun in such a way that there is an orbital resonance between it and Venus, as a result of which it remains close to the planet over many orbital periods.

Terraforming Venus

Venus in different cultures

Venus in literature

In Alexander Belyaev’s novel “Leap into Nothing,” the heroes, a handful of capitalists, flee from the world proletarian revolution into Space, land on Venus and settle there. The planet is presented in the novel approximately as the Earth in the Mesozoic era.
In Boris Lyapunov’s science fiction essay “Closest to the Sun,” earthlings set foot on Venus and Mercury for the first time and study them.
In Vladimir Vladko’s novel “The Argonauts of the Universe,” a Soviet geological exploration expedition is sent to Venus.
In Georgy Martynov’s novel-trilogy “Starfarers”, the second book - “Sister of the Earth” - is dedicated to the adventures of Soviet cosmonauts on Venus and getting to know its intelligent inhabitants.
In the series of stories by Victor Saparin: “Heavenly Kulu”, “Return of the Roundheads” and “The Disappearance of Loo”, the astronauts who landed on the planet establish contact with the inhabitants of Venus.
In the story “Planet of Storms” by Alexander Kazantsev (novel “Grandchildren of Mars”), cosmonaut researchers encounter the animal world and traces of intelligent life on Venus. Filmed by Pavel Klushantsev as “Planet of Storms”.
In the novel by the Strugatsky Brothers “The Country of Crimson Clouds” Venus was the second planet after Mars, which they are trying to colonize, and they send the planet “Hius” with a crew of scouts to the area of deposits radioactive substances called "Uranium Golconda".
In Sever Gansovsky’s story “Saving December,” the last two observers of earthlings meet December, the animal on which the natural balance on Venus depended. The Decembers were considered completely exterminated and people were ready to die, but leave the Decembers alive.
The novel “The Splash of Starry Seas” by Evgeniy Voiskunsky and Isaiah Lukodyanov tells about reconnaissance cosmonauts, scientists, and engineers who, in difficult conditions of space and human society, colonize Venus.
In Alexander Shalimov’s story “Planet of Fogs,” expedition members sent on a laboratory ship to Venus try to solve the mysteries of this planet.
In the stories of Ray Bradbury, the planet's climate is presented as extremely rainy (it either rains always or stops once every ten years)
Robert Heinlein's novels Between the Planets, Podkain the Martian, Space Cadet, and The Logic of Empire depict Venus as a gloomy, swampy world reminiscent of the Amazon Valley during the rainy season. Venus is home to intelligent inhabitants that resemble seals or dragons.
In Stanislaw Lem's novel The Astronauts, earthlings find remains on Venus lost civilization, who was going to destroy life on Earth. Filmed as The Silent Star.
Francis Karsak's “Flight of the Earth”, along with the main plot, describes a colonized Venus, the atmosphere of which has undergone physical and chemical treatment, as a result of which the planet has become suitable for human life.
Henry Kuttner's science fiction novel Fury tells of the terraforming of Venus by colonists from a lost Earth.

Literature

Koronovsky N. N. Morphology of the surface of Venus // Soros Educational Journal.
Burba G. A. Venus: Russian transcription of names // Laboratory of Comparative Planetology GEOKHI, May 2005.

Notes

Williams, David R. Venus Fact Sheet. NASA (April 15, 2005). Retrieved October 12, 2007.
Venus: Facts & Figures. NASA. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
Space Topics: Compare the Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, and Mars. Planetary Society. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
Caught in the wind from the Sun. ESA (Venus Express) (2007-11-28). Retrieved July 12, 2008.
College.ru
RIA Agency
Venus had oceans and volcanoes in the past - scientists RIA Novosti (2009-07-14).
M.V. Lomonosov writes: “...Mr. Kurganov, from his calculations, learned that this memorable passage of Venus across the Sun will happen again in May 1769 on the 23rd day of the old calm, which, although it is doubtful to see in St. Petersburg, only in many places near the local parallel, and especially further to the north, may be witnesses. For the beginning of the introduction will follow here at 10 o’clock in the afternoon, and the speech at 3 o’clock in the afternoon; will apparently pass along the upper half of the Sun at a distance from its center of approximately 2/3 of the solar half-diameter. And since 1769, after a hundred and five years, this phenomenon apparently occurs again. of the same 1769 October 29th day, the same passage of the planet Mercury across the Sun will be visible only in South America" - M. V. Lomonosov “The Appearance of Venus on the Sun...”
Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov. Selected works in 2 volumes. M.: Science. 1986

The North Star is perhaps one of the most famous stars in the sky. In popularity it is second only to the Sun, and of the night luminaries it is certainly the most famous. It is not surprising that many people consider it to be something special, standing out either in size or brightness, and endow it in their imagination with various qualities that are not inherent to it at all. So the North Star is surrounded by many myths and misconceptions. And if these misconceptions are not dispelled, in a situation where you need to find it in the sky in order to get your bearings, all these myths can lead to mistakes. And for a lost person in conditions wildlife Such mistakes can be deadly.

So, let's dispel all the myths about the North Star.

Myth 1. The North Star and Venus are the same thing

Most likely, this myth is associated with the apparent size of Venus: it appears larger and brighter compared to other luminaries of the night sky visible from Earth. Since, according to another myth, the North Star is the brightest star in the sky, when seeing Venus, a person may think that since this object is the brightest, it means it is the North Star.

In fact, the North Star and Venus are completely different celestial bodies. Venus is a planet of the solar system, slightly smaller in size than the Earth, and the North Star is precisely a star whose radius is 30 times the radius of our Sun. The distance from Earth to Venus is on average 37.5 million times less than the distance to the North Star (on average - because the distance to Venus varies significantly due to the movement of the planets in orbit, but the minimum difference is 15 million times). The main thing is that in the sky these two luminaries are located in different places and are usually clearly visible. If you know how to find the North Star and know where Venus is in the sky in a particular area at a particular time of year, you can find both of them and be convinced that these are two different celestial bodies.

A situation that can be observed in the western part of Russia in winter - both Venus and Kinosura are visible above the horizon at the same time

Note

A little less often, this misconception is found in another formulation: The North Star is a planet. This is also a myth: the North Star is just that, a star. Moreover, modern research show what it is the whole system of the three stars that today have even been photographed using powerful telescopes. Therefore, calling it a planet is completely wrong.

A telescope shot of the North Star: two companion stars are visible, which merge into one to the naked eye.

Fact: The North Star and Venus are not the same thing, but completely different celestial objects.

And since we’re talking about brightness, let’s remember another common myth...

Myth 2. Polaris is the brightest star in the sky

Polaris is far from the brightest star in the night sky. The brightest star in the visible spectrum is Sirius from the constellation Canis Major, several other stars in the night sky are brighter than Polaris, which often leads to orientation errors for beginners: they go to the brightest star, considering it Polaris, and deviate from the northern direction.

By the way, this is where the legs of another myth “grow”: Sirius is the North Star. This is also a gross mistake: Sirius has nothing to do with polarissima. Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major, the North Star is in the constellation Ursa Minor, and the distance between these stars is always significant. Sirius is not the North Star, never has been and never will be.

Also a typical winter picture of the starry sky with Kinosura and Sirius

The name of the true northern Pole Star is Kinosura.

Note

For the same reason, there is a common (albeit to a lesser extent) misconception that Vega is the North Star. Vega also refers to bright stars, its brightness is greater than the brightness of Polar. However, this is a completely different luminary that has nothing to do with Kinosura.

Fact: Polaris is not the brightest star in the night sky. The brightness of many stars is significantly greater, and therefore looking for the brightest star to orient yourself is dangerous due to the possibility of error.

And again, from one myth the following follows: since we have already said about the constellations, let us remember the common misconception about the location of the North Star.

Myth 3. The North Star is located in the constellation Ursa Major

Polaris is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, but due to the weak brightness of other stars in this constellation in many cases (especially in populated areas) except for the North Star itself, none of the other stars in this constellation are visible. At the same time, next to it there is a clearly visible and recognizable constellation Ursa Major with several bright luminaries. Due to this, by the way, it is by the constellation Ursa Major that Kinosura is most often found in the sky. It is not surprising that without going into details, many people tend to classify the North Star as Ursa Major. This is actually a mistake: Polaris is the brightest star (alpha).

Fact: The North Star is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major is only used to locate it.

Myth 4. The North Star is visible from anywhere on the planet

Polaris is visible only from northern hemisphere, if weather conditions, terrain and other factors do not interfere with this, and in the northern hemisphere it can be seen from almost any place with an open starry sky. visible only near the equator (up to 85 km), either in reflection in the atmosphere due to the phenomenon of refraction, or when climbing mountains or from an airplane. It is not visible in the rest of the Southern Hemisphere.

The position of the North Star above the horizon on northern latitude 4 degrees (Africa). Even here the star barely appears above the horizon, despite the fact that this is already the northern hemisphere.

This myth is due to the fact that historically the North Star was considered as the main guiding, navigational celestial body. A person who is poorly versed in the matter may decide that since ancient times, people could only use a luminary that could be seen from everywhere as such a guiding star.

Indeed, in ancient world, where the North Star had already acquired the status of the main navigation star, it was visible from everywhere, at least because ancient developed civilizations were concentrated in the northern hemisphere and people here always saw it. And the subsequent discovery of lands south of the equator, where Kinosura is hidden behind the horizon, could no longer change attitudes towards it.

Fact: The North Star is visible from anywhere in the northern hemisphere of the planet. It is not visible on the southern half of the planet.

Myth 5. The North Star points south

The polar star from the constellation Ursa Minor points north. IN southern hemisphere Its own polarissima, Sigma of the Octantus constellation, points strictly south, but it is much inferior in brightness to Kinosura, therefore it is rarely used in navigation and is not so popular. In fact, it is rarely even called the North Star. When we talk about the North Star, we usually mean North Polarissima, which points due north.

Note

In general, it is incorrect to say that this or that star is located in the south or north. South and north are directions that are relevant only on planet Earth. Any celestial bodies are located outside the Earth, and very far from it, and saying, for example, that the North Star is in the south is the same as, say, a beetle figuring out which side of the tree the beach is on.

Fact: The most famous North Star points north. Polarissima in the southern hemisphere points south, but is much less commonly called the South Pole Star.

Goddesses of love from the Roman pantheon. It is the only one of the eight major planets in the Solar System to be named after a female deity.

Venus is the third brightest object in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon and reaches an apparent magnitude of −4.6. Because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it is never more than 47.8° away from the Sun (for an observer on Earth). Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or some time after sunset, which gave rise to the name Evening star or Morning star.

The surface of Venus is hidden by extremely thick clouds of sulfuric acid clouds with high reflective characteristics, which makes it impossible to see the surface in visible light (but its atmosphere is transparent to radio waves, with the help of which the planet’s topography was subsequently studied)

It is interesting that all the details of the relief of Venus bear female names, with the exception of the highest mountain range of the planet, located on Ishtar Earth near the Lakshmi Plateau and named after James Maxwell

Impact craters are a rare element of the Venusian landscape. There are only about 1,000 craters on the entire planet. The picture shows two craters with diameters of about 40-50 km. The interior area is filled with lava. The "petals" around craters are areas covered with crushed rock thrown out during the explosion that formed the crater.

Venus is easy to recognize because it is much brighter than the brightest stars. A distinctive feature of the planet is its smooth white color (see photo above). Venus, like Mercury, does not move very far from the Sun in the sky.

Large craters on Venus are named after family names famous women, small kraters - female names. Examples of large ones: Akhmatova, Barsova, Barto, Volkova, Golubkina, Danilova, Dashkova, Ermolova, Efimova, Klenova, Mukhina, Obukhova, Orlova, Osipenko, Potanina, Rudneva, Ruslanova, Fedorets, Yablochkina. Examples of small ones: Anya, Katya, Olya, Sveta, Tanya, etc.

The non-crateral landforms of Venus are named after mythical, fairy-tale and legendary women: the hills are given the names of goddesses different nations, relief depressions - other characters from various mythologies:

Lands and plateaus are named after the goddesses of love and beauty; tesserae - named after the goddesses of fate, happiness and good luck; mountains, domes, regions - are called by the names of various goddesses, giantesses, titanides; hills - names of sea goddesses; the ledges are named after the goddesses of the hearth, the crowns are named after the goddesses of fertility and agriculture; ridges - the names of sky goddesses and female characters linked in myths with sky and light.
Furrows and lines are named after warlike women, and canyons are named after mythological characters associated with the Moon, hunting and forests.

Transit of Venus across the Sun

Poems, paintings, novels, and films were dedicated to Venus.

Dante Gabriel Rosseti Venus

VENUS IS A BIBLE GARDEN...

Twin of the earth burning in the night,
And before there was a wonderful garden there,
And life-giving light.

Venus is the biblical hell,
Her foggy red light
And the soil is stinking...
How to unravel her secret?

Venus is the biblical hell,
Was the most beautiful of the planets,
There was water and smoothness and harmony,
Now there is no life there.

There's a lot of lightning and winds,
Its volcanoes are alive,
From lava fire cover
And hot fountains.

She is beautiful and bright...
In a dress of light gases,
She is like passion tart, bitter, -
The shine of diamonds is dangerous.

So love is its source...
(As long as there is a measure in everything) -
Heat and light conductor...
Messages of Lucifer.

His mysterious double...
Night shadow Hesperus,
Love has many faces...
Among the celestial spheres.

Poems by Larisa Kuzminskaya

Sandro Botticelli The Birth of Venus

Poliziano, “Giostra” (fragment):
The stormy Aegean, the cradle through the womb
Fedita swam among the foamy waters,
Creation of a different sky,
The dissimilar person stands up to face people
In a charming pose, looking animated,
There is a young virgin in her. Attracts
Zephyr in love sinks the shell to the shore,
And their heavens rejoice in their flight.
They would say: the true sea is here.
And the sink with foam - like living ones,
And you can see that the goddess’s eyes are shining.
The sky and the elements are smiling before her.
There, in white, Ora walks along the shore,
The wind ruffles their golden hair.
You could see how she came out of the water,
She holds with her right hand
His hair, the other covering his nipple,
At the feet of the saints are her flowers and herbs
The sand was covered with fresh greenery.

Kustodiev Russian Venus

Venus, the second most distant planet from the ☼ Sun and the closest planet to Earth in the solar system, astronomical sign. Venus was also known as the Morning Star, Hesperus, Vesper, the Evening Star, Phosphorus, and Lucifer. The average distance from the Sun is 108 million km (0.723 astronomical units). The sidereal period is 224 days. 16 hours 49 minutes 8 seconds. For an observer on Earth, the angular distance of Venus from the Sun does not exceed 48°, as a result of which it is visible only for some time shortly before its rise (morning star).

Venus is the brightest luminary (after the Sun and Moon) in the earth's sky. At its maximum brightness it reaches magnitude 4.4, the Venus phase (discovered by G. Galileo in 1610) people with exceptional good eyesight can be seen with the naked eye.

The astrological mysticism of Venus was determined by the special proportion of its rotation, opposite to the movement of all other planets in the solar system. One got the impression that Venus is a “planet in reverse.” Therefore, she was often called Lucifer and endowed with demonic traits and was seen as a counterweight to the Sun. Sometimes “Venus” meant the “star Wormwood” mentioned in the Apocalypse. Venus is a symbol of external, carnal beauty. Therefore, she was called “Morning Star” or “Day Day”.

According to the esoteric legend of a number of Indo-European tribes, the “white race” originates from Venus. The “Children of Venus” - the Luciferites - were opposed to the rest of humanity. The alchemical metal of Venus is copper. Its musical counterpart is the note G. Animals of Venus - bull, panther, goat, seal; birds - dove and sparrow; plants - verbena, fig tree; stones - emerald, garnet, chrysolite. The color semantics of the planet is blue. Countries under the patronage of Venus are Persia, Spain, India; cities - Vienna, Paris, Florence.

"Lucifer" is a dim morning star, a harbinger of dazzling radiance midday sun , "Eosphorus" of the Greeks. It twinkles timidly at sunset to accumulate strength and dazzle the eyes after sunset like its own brother, “Hesperus” - the shining star, or planet Venus. There is no more suitable symbol for the proposed work - than to shed a ray of truth on everything that is hidden in the darkness of prejudice, social or religious errors; especially those caused by that idiotically routine way of life, which, as soon as an act, thing or name has been disgraced by a slanderous fabrication, however unjust it may be, makes so-called respectable people turn away with a shudder and refuse even to even look at it with any respect. any other side, except that which is sanctioned by public opinion.

Therefore, such an attempt to force cowardly people to face the truth is very effectively helped by the name classified as cursed names.

Devout readers may object that the word "Lucifer" is accepted by all churches as one of the many names of the devil. According to Milton's grand fantasy, Lucifer is Satan, the "rebellious" angel, the enemy of God and man. But if you analyze his rebellion, you cannot find anything more evil in it than the demand for free will and independent thought.

Lucifer, the bringer of light, is a natural teacher and mentor for any magician.

Lucifer - planet ♀ Venus, like the bright “Morning Star”, is nothing more than the Light of the Supreme Soul reflected in rough earthly matter or the “inverted” Christ, therefore Lucifer is translated as the bearer of Light - the spark that gave birth to the human intellect or the “false light”, without which the lower animal soul a person could never be enlightened by the True Light of the Supreme World Soul. Therefore, in “Revelation” (ХХП, 16), words about himself are put into the mouth of the Christian Savior: “I am... the bright and morning star” or Lucifer.

Lucifer - feminine God. The feminine nature of Lucifer is the basis on which “he” is correlated with Venus, the Morning Star and is found to correspond with those properties and associations that have traditionally been considered feminine: such as instinct, beauty, pride, and, of course, temptation.

Venus-Lucifer, the morning star rising before the sun belongs to that type of emotional activity which, symbolically speaking, precedes the self. This is not necessarily an extroverted, particularly intense or unrestrained type of emotionality, although this is often the general tendency. This is the type of person who comes out to meet the world, first of all, to meet other people with greedy anticipation, as if life itself depended on the result of the meeting; if, however, this expectation ends in disappointment, the person may appear outwardly cold and withdrawn, but this is only a mask of self-defense.

Venus-Lucifer represents the quality of youthful experiences. The strings of feelings are stretched to the limit. A feeling of personal insecurity prevails; feelings serve as guides and pointers. Later, perhaps, these feelings will receive the more mature and respectable name of intuition, but the nature of the process remains essentially the same. One senses situations and people in an act of almost immediate ethical judgment. They are good or bad specifically for him and at a specific time. He acts according to his feeling, how he needs to act, very often infecting with his feeling, his warmth. This type includes (if you choose at random) Walt Whitman, Richard Wagner, Vincent Van Gogh, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Napoleon I, Mussolini, Maria Montessori (the great teacher), F. Roosevelt; This is Venus in the US birth chart.

Morning Venus creates magnetic fields and archetypes, that is, it gives form to the spiritual release of solar energy, the source of all manifestations and not specific, physical fitness(which belongs to the sphere of Saturn), but an archetypal spiritual pattern of energy, a network of electro-magnetic forces. Person with strong Venus-Lucifer in birth chart naturally strives to project his vision and purpose of life into the world, to impose on others the rhythm of his essential existence. He feels like a proclaimer, a mouthpiece for God, pouring himself out emotionally and often proudly into his creations. This emotional outpouring can be neutralized by other factors

This zodiacal arcana corresponds to ♒ Aquarius:

♒ Aquarius has two rulers: ♅ Uranus and ♄ Saturn. They endowed ♒ Aquarians with breadth of mind, intelligence and the ability to penetrate into the most mysterious secrets of the universe. The main driving idea and force of ♒ Aquarius is some higher idea, which he strives to immediately bring to life. This often makes him incomprehensible to others and sometimes brings suffering ♒ Aquarius, who strives to communicate with people. He wants to reveal to people some of the secrets known to him, he is often endowed with clairvoyant abilities, and can act as a soothsayer or magician.

However, internal inconsistency prevents full self-expression, which makes Aquarius irritable and pushes others away from him. Constant attempts to reconcile and balance your inner depth and mystery with external energy and simplicity can hinder Aquarius in life. Meanwhile, this is one of the most humane and altruistic signs. If Aquarius has a strong will, he can curb his passions and ultimately achieve what he wants. This is facilitated by determination and stubbornness.

The basis of the nature of any ♒ Aquarius is duality. At the same time, they strive for universal love and glory, for ideal spirituality and material well-being, independence and prestige. However, they rarely give themselves entirely to any impulse, preferring some contemplation. However, the strong type ♒ Aquarius can be very active and adamant. They have very developed intuition, but a weak type can become jealous, insensitive, and unkind, especially if he is obsessed with the desire to get ahead.

In love they are very sentimental, mystical and chaste. People enter into marriage very reluctantly, even if we're talking about O great love, because they instinctively hate any fetters, even happy ones. They rarely focus on family, preferring friends or the good of humanity as a whole. The tendency to idealize often leads them to bitter disappointments. Aquarius men are especially prone to such idealization. Women are very sensitive, but they are just as freedom-loving as men and are just as inclined to elevate their chosen one to an unattainable pedestal. They are not immediately disappointed, but once disappointed, they leave their partner forever.

They fit well into any team, are not envious, have an easy-going and good disposition, and are always willing to help newcomers. Having become a leader, they manage to maintain good relations with everyone, willingly share their plans and are never rude dictators. They are always full of fresh and unexpected ideas that they try to implement. They are very disciplined, responsible, enjoy universal respect and often love. They are not interested in money at all, which is why Aquarians often turn out to be truly poor people.

They treat luxury with surprising indifference, even if their wealth allows them to surround themselves with unprecedented comfort. They spend money unscrupulously and ineptly, preferring to spend it on others rather than on themselves. They have artistic abilities, express themselves best in art, and are good workers in television, cinema, education, spiritual mentoring, psychology, and sociology. Aquarians make successful careers in the fields of law, engineering, aeronautics and shipbuilding.

They get sick often, quickly get tired of treatment, refuse it, which can lead to additional exacerbations. Usually graceful, agile, often rushing from one extreme to another, leading either the life of an ascetic and ascetic, or a sybarite and a lazy person. They may suffer from insomnia, as they are under constant nervous tension.

Aquarius has very fragile bones, so numerous fractures are possible. Metabolic disorders, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and sclerosis cannot be ruled out. Exposure infectious diseases very big. You should lead a measured lifestyle, eat right, try to get tired less and move more. Sedentary work is not favorable for Aquarius.

They are always elegant, have refined taste and strive to look elegant and original. Aquarius women have the rare ability to look dazzling and expensive, without using overly luxurious fabrics or jewelry. Sometimes it happens that originality turns into extravagance, somewhat shocking others. Aquarians - both men and women - always strive to look trendy.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and closest to Earth. However, before the start of space flights, very little was known about Venus: the entire surface of the planet was covered with thick clouds, which did not allow it to be studied. These clouds are composed of sulfuric acid, which highly reflect light. Therefore, in visible light It is impossible to see the surface of Venus. The atmosphere of Venus is 100 times denser than Earth's and consists of carbon dioxide. Venus is illuminated by the Sun no more than the Earth is illuminated by the Moon on a cloudless night. However, the Sun heats the planet's atmosphere so much that it is always very hot - the temperature rises to 500 degrees. The reason for such strong heating is greenhouse effect, which creates an atmosphere of carbon dioxide.

The atmosphere on Venus was discovered by the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761, when the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun could be observed through a telescope. This cosmic phenomenon was calculated in advance and was eagerly awaited by astronomers around the world. But only Lomonosov drew attention to the fact that when Venus came into contact with the disk of the Sun, a “hair-thin radiance” arose around the planet. Lomonosov gave the correct scientific explanation for this phenomenon: he considered it the result of refraction of solar rays in the atmosphere of Venus. “The planet Venus,” he wrote, “is surrounded by a noble air atmosphere, such (if only not more) than that which surrounds our globe.”

Pressure reaches 92 earth's atmosphere. This means that for every square centimeter a column of gas weighing 92 kilograms presses. The diameter of Venus is only 600 kilometers smaller than that of Earth, and the gravity is almost the same as on our planet. A kilogram weight on Venus will weigh 850 grams. Thus, Venus is very similar to Earth in size, gravity and composition, which is why it is called an "Earth-like" planet, or "sister planet."

Size comparison
From left to right: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Venus rotates around its axis in the direction opposite to the direction of the other planets in the solar system - from east to west. Only one other planet in our system behaves this way - Uranus.

One rotation around its axis takes 243 Earth days. But the Venusian year is only 224.7 Earth days. It turns out that a day on Venus lasts more than a year! On Venus there is a change of day and night, but there is no change of seasons.

Nowadays, the surface of Venus is explored both with the help of spacecraft and with the help of radio emission. Thus, it was discovered that most of the surface of Venus is occupied by hilly plains. The ground and sky above it are orange. The surface of the planet is pitted with many craters caused by the impacts of giant meteorites. The diameter of these craters reaches 270 km! We also learned that there are tens of thousands of volcanoes on Venus. Recent studies have shown that some of them are valid.

Image of the surface of Venus based on radar data:
volcanic mountain Maat 8 km high

Venus has no natural satellites.

Venus is the third brightest object in our sky. Venus is called the Morning Star, and also the Evening Star, because from Earth it looks brightest shortly before sunrise and sunset (in ancient times it was believed that morning and evening Venus were different stars).