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Venus (and also Mercury) is not visible from Earth when it is full, since at that time it is at superior conjunction, rising and setting concomitantly with the Sun and hence lost in the Sun's glare. Venus is brightest when approximately 25% of its disk is illuminated; this typically occurs 37 days both before (in the evening sky) and after (in ...
The surface of Venus is comparatively flat. When 93% of the topography was mapped by Pioneer Venus Orbiter, scientists found that the total distance from the lowest point to the highest point on the entire surface was about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), about the same as the vertical distance between the Earth's ocean floor and the higher summits of the Himalayas.
Venus, our closest planetary neighbor, is sometimes called Earth's twin based on their similar size and rocky composition. While its surface is baked and barren today, might Venus once also have ...
The orbit of Venus is 224.7 Earth days (7.4 avg. Earth months [30.4 days]). The phases of Venus result from the planet's orbit around the Sun inside the Earth's orbit giving the telescopic observer a sequence of progressive lighting similar in appearance to the Moon's phases.
Venus’ cloud data prove that Venus' clouds contain a small amount of water, possibly proving that Venus once had a functioning water cycle. [7] Using image data from Magellan, scientists could fill lowlands of Venus’ surface area with water, leaving only Venusian continents visible.
Zodiacal light spans the entire sky and contributes [7] to the natural light of a clear and moonless night sky. A related phenomenon is gegenschein (or counterglow ), sunlight backscattered from the interplanetary dust, which appears directly opposite to the Sun as a faint but slightly brighter oval glow.
Because Venus is completely covered in clouds, human knowledge of surface conditions was largely speculative until the space probe era. Until the mid-20th century, the surface environment of Venus was believed to be similar to Earth, hence it was widely believed that Venus could harbor life.
With four weeks left in the NFL regular season, only four teams have clinched playoff spots. But several more could join them in Week 15.