Venus the Valentine Planet: What we love about Venus
For Valentine's day, we are taking a look at the love planet Venus and exploring whether our interest in Venus stem from its striking apperance, intriguing geologic features, cultural significance, extreme atomopheric conditions, or scientific interest that drew us in. It's funny because some of the things we take a look at are also characteristic of how we find human love.
If you have ever peered into the dusk or dawn sky, you might have seen a magnificent bright star that has long captivated its admirers. Many people have been driving along some place and find themselves pulling off the road, for example, and taking out their telescope or binoculars to identify this brightly lit object. Little do they know that they likely have been charmed by the planet Venus.
Venus’ aliases:
Various cultures and mythology indicate Venus is named after the Roman God of LOVE and BEAUTY, who was known as Aphrodite by the ancient Greeks, and called Venus by the Romans.
Do you know that Venus is the only planet named after a female god?
Tenielle Gaither, Nomenclature manager at USGS Astrogeology Science Center (ASC), for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) , also manages the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The gazetteer contains detailed information about all names of topographic and albedo features on planets, moons, and asteroids (and some planetary ring and ring-gap systems) that the IAU has named and approved from its founding in 1919 through the present time.
“Most of the features on Venus have been named for women, both real and mythological,” said Gaither. The nomenclature theme for Venusian craters larger than 20 km is “Women who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their field,” and there are over 400 craters named for women scientists, writers, artists, musicians, and physicians. Over 900 other feature types, such as montes (mountains), undae (dunes), and dorsa (ridges) are named for goddesses from world mythology. “ Only one feature on Venus is named for a male person: James Clerk Maxwell, who developed the theory of electromagnetism.
Experience teaches falling for a hot person or planet only because they are beautiful can leave one heartbroken, feeling burned, or even crushed; this is especially true of Venus. “Standing on the surface of Venus, you’d essentially be crushed by the sheer mass of all the atmosphere on top of you!” Yet Venus has inspired artists, lovers, and song writers in celebration of its celestial beauty.
Venus’ brightness:
Venus is the second planet from the sun. It’s the brightest planet visible to the naked eye. On Valentine’s Day, February 14,, 2025, Venus will gift Earthlings its peak brilliancy, at magnitude -4.9 at 22 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). All you have to do is look up to notice this wonderful Valentine sent from Venus.
Venus’ Temperature:
Venus has the reputation of being so “hot” that its pressure and scorching temperature 460°C (860°F) have crushed landers. There is no need for a “No Parking” sign on the Venusian planet or to be concerned about exceeding the timing set on a parking meter, your lander will simply be fried.
Venus’ Atmosphere:
Investigating Venus is rather different from other bodies because of its thick, dense clouds of sulfuric acid, which is impossible to see through with visible light. Scientists found that radar technology (or sending probes) was the answer to unveiling Venus’ surface and features. This capability is possible because of the principles of electromagnetic wave propagation described by Maxwell’s equations.
ASC created the mosaic above using radar images. Radar doesn’t see color at all; it detects electromagnetic waves and measures properties to provide information about objects. During image processing, ASC colorized the images, so they are not colored in the way we perceive colors with visible light. The first pictures from the surface taken by Soviet probes had a orange color because Venus’ dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid, affects how light interacts with the surface.
Venus’ Body:
Venus has the shape and size most like Earth and has been referred to as Earth’s twin because they have a lot of similarities between them, but there are remarkable differences: No one will be living on Venus anytime soon, or in its sulfuric clouds. Missions to Venus have shown a stark, inhospitable environment for human living. Compared to Earth, Venus has extreme high temperatures, high atmospheric pressures and lacks liquid water.
Venus and Earth exhibit similar geological features such as mountains, valleys, and volcanic activity composed of silicate rock and have a similar planetary structure including a core, a rocky mantle and crust. While we do not cover all the similarities and differences between Venus and Earth, using this quick fact sheet here can speed learning ahead.
Notable Differences:
Do you know Venus has no Moons? But On November 11, 2002, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff Arizona, discovered Venus has a quasi-satellite. The asteroid's name was mislabeled, therefore it was later renamed Zoozve!
Additionally, note that Venus (and Uranus) spins backwards (called retrograde). Somewhere along the line Venus flipped its axis 180 degrees. That’s not typically what planets do, but uniqueness can also be an element of attraction. Check out the science behind retrograde in this video that discusses several hypotheses leading to this oddity.
Pursuit of Venus:
NASA first flight to pursue Venus was on July 22, 1962, but the mission veered off course and was sent instructions to self-destruct. On Dec. 14, 1962, NASA successfully sent the Mariner 2 spacecraft to fly by Venus and return data on the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment, and mass. There were missions to Venus from 1960 to 2020, and new missions abound, like the upcoming DAVINCI AND Veritas missions scheduled to launch between 2028 and 2030.
Among those decades of missions to Venus was the Magellan mission. In about 1994, we, USGS Astrogeology Science Center, instrumental in mapping bodies since the Apollo era, used the Magellan data to create highly detailed maps of the surface of Venus at global and regional scales. Dr. Randolph Kirk designed the color map on the right (for making globes) and he said,” it was really great to see it used again when the thermal images were released.” Much of this work can be found in Astropedia, a search portal for image mosaics, geologic, topographic maps, and more.
We certainly wanted to get to know Venus better. Our maps help inform the science community about such things as surface features, mineral composition, and geological processes. We contribute to the accuracy and richness of information gathered from missions. Methods used include new techniques of radar image processing that became operational as a result of the Magellan mission.
Dr. Randolph Kirk, emeritus, at ASC has participated in many missions to Venus. Agreeing with many others, he said Venus is definitely of interest because:
“Lots of exoplanets have been discovered, including rocky bodies ranging in size from smaller than Earth and Venus to larger. Venus is the most accessible analog for some of these. We can study how Venus works in comparative detail and then consider how that would present itself in the kinds of observations we can make of exoplanets.”
So what is it that we love about Venus?
While Venus may not be a hospitable planet for life as we know it, its beauty, scientific interest, and the mystery it holds contribute to a sense of fascination and love for this intriguing neighbor. It can teach us a lot about our home planet, making it our 2025 Valentine for this year.
Happy Valentines Day!
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