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Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet, has no moons, or at least none that can be detected to a diameter of 1.6 km (1.0 mi). [2] For a very short time in 1974, Mercury was thought to have a moon. Venus also has no moons, [3] though reports of a moon around Venus have circulated since the 17th century.
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
Since then, increasingly distant planets have been reached, with probes landing on or impacting the surfaces of Venus in 1966 , Mars in 1971 (Mars 3, although a fully successful landing didn't occur until Viking 1 in 1976), the asteroid Eros in 2001 (NEAR Shoemaker), Saturn's moon Titan in 2004 , the comets Tempel 1 (Deep Impact) in 2005, and ...
The Venus symbol was also used in Western alchemy representing the element copper (like the symbol of Mercury is also the symbol of the element mercury), [288] [289] and since polished copper has been used for mirrors from antiquity the symbol for Venus has sometimes been called Venus mirror, representing the mirror of the goddess, although ...
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.
There have been 46 space missions to the planet Venus (including gravity-assist flybys). Missions to Venus constitute part of the exploration of Venus. The Soviet Union, followed by the United States, have soft landed probes on the surface. Venera 7 was the first lander overall and first for the Soviet Union, touching down on 15 December 1970.
Former planets of the Solar System Former planet Discovery Removal Current status Notes The Morning Star [NB 1]: Antiquity: Antiquity: Aspects of Venus "Phosphorus", the Morning Star of Greek antiquity (Eosphorus, the Dawn-Bringer; called "Lucifer" by the Romans), and "Hesperus", the Evening Star (called "Vesper" by the Romans), were later identified as a single planet, Venus (Aphrodite).
Parker Solar Probe has performed seven Venus flybys, which occurred on October 3, 2018, December 26, 2019, July 11, 2020, February 20, 2021, October 16, 2021, August 21, 2023, and November 6, 2024. Parker Solar Probe makes observations of the Sun and solar wind , and these Venus encounters enable Parker Solar Probe to perform gravity assists ...