Venus

This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Venus
(disambiguation).
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every
224.7 Earth days.[10] It has no natural satellite. It is named
after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the
Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky,
reaching an apparent magnitude of 4.6, bright enough
to cast shadows.[11] Because Venus is an inferior planet
from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun:
Size comparison with Earth.
its elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8.
Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called
Earths sister planet because of their similar size, mass,
proximity to the Sun and bulk composition. It is radically dierent from Earth in other respects. It has the
densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric
pressure at the planets surface is 92 times that of Earths.
With a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 C; 863
F), Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Venus
has no carbon cycle that puts carbon into rock, nor does it
seem to have any organic life to absorb carbon in biomass.
Venus is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reective
clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being
seen from space in visible light. It may have had oceans
in the past,[12][13] but these would have vaporized as the
temperature rose due to a runaway greenhouse eect.[14]
The water has most probably photodissociated, and, because of the lack of a planetary magnetic eld, the free
hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the
solar wind.[15] Venuss surface is a dry desertscape interspersed with slab-like rocks and periodically refreshed by
volcanism.

1.1 Geography
The Venusian surface was a subject of speculation until some of its secrets were revealed by planetary science in the 20th century. It was nally mapped in detail by Project Magellan in 199091. The ground shows
evidence of extensive volcanism, and the sulfur in the
atmosphere may indicate there have been some recent
eruptions.[18][19]
About 80% of the Venusian surface is covered by smooth,
volcanic plains, consisting of 70% plains with wrinkle
ridges and 10% smooth or lobate plains.[20] Two highland
continents make up the rest of its surface area, one lying in the planets northern hemisphere and the other just
south of the equator. The northern continent is called
Ishtar Terra, after Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love,
and is about the size of Australia. Maxwell Montes, the
highest mountain on Venus, lies on Ishtar Terra. Its peak
is 11 km above the Venusian average surface elevation.
The southern continent is called Aphrodite Terra, after
the Greek goddess of love, and is the larger of the two
highland regions at roughly the size of South America.
A network of fractures and faults covers much of this
area.[21]
The absence of evidence of lava ow accompanying any
of the visible caldera remains an enigma. The planet has
few impact craters, demonstrating the surface is relatively
young, approximately 300600 million years old.[22][23]
In addition to the impact craters, mountains, and valleys commonly found on rocky planets, Venus has some
unique surface features. Among these are at-topped volcanic features called "farra", which look somewhat like
pancakes and range in size from 20 to 50 km across,
and from 100 to 1,000 m high; radial, star-like fracture systems called novae"; features with both radial and
concentric fractures resembling spider webs, known as
"arachnoids"; and coronae, circular rings of fractures

Physical characteristics

Venus is one of the four terrestrial planets in the Solar

System, meaning that, like Earth, it is a rocky body. In
size and mass, it is similar to Earth, and is often described
as Earths sister or twin.[16] The diameter of Venus is
12,092 km (only 650 km less than Earths) and its mass
is 81.5% of Earths. Conditions on the Venusian surface
dier radically from those on Earth, owing to its dense
carbon dioxide atmosphere. The mass of the atmosphere
of Venus is 96.5% carbon dioxide, with most of the remaining 3.5% being nitrogen.[17]
1

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

sometimes surrounded by a depression. These features abundant lightning in the high atmosphere.[31] Although
are volcanic in origin.[24]
rainfall drives thunderstorms on Earth, there is no rainMost Venusian surface features are named after histori- fall on the surface of Venus (though sulfuric acid rain
cal and mythological women.[25] Exceptions are Maxwell falls in the upper atmosphere, then evaporates around 25
Montes, named after James Clerk Maxwell, and high- km above the surface). One possibility is that ash from a
land regions Alpha Regio, Beta Regio and Ovda Regio. volcanic eruption was generating the lightning. Another
The latter three features were named before the current piece of evidence comes from measurements of sulfur
system was adopted by the International Astronomical dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, which dropped
by a factor of 10 between 1978 and 1986, jumped in
Union, the body that oversees planetary nomenclature.[26]
2006, and again declined 10-fold.[32] This may mean that
The longitudes of physical features on Venus are ex- levels had been boosted several times by large volcanic
pressed relative to its prime meridian. The original eruptions.[33][34]
prime meridian passed through the radar-bright spot at
the center of the oval feature Eve, located south of Alpha Almost a thousand impact craters on Venus are evenly
Regio.[27] After the Venera missions were completed, the distributed across its surface. On other cratered bodies,
prime meridian was redened to pass through the central such as Earth and the Moon, craters show a range of states
of degradation. On the Moon, degradation is caused by
peak in the crater Ariadne.[28][29]
subsequent impacts, whereas on Earth it is caused by wind
and rain erosion. On Venus, about 85% of the craters are
in pristine condition. The number of craters, together
1.2 Surface geology
with their well-preserved condition, indicates the planet
underwent a global resurfacing event about 300600 milMain articles: Geology of Venus and Volcanology of
lion years ago,[22][23] followed by a decay in volcanism.[35]
Venus
Whereas Earths crust is in continuous motion, Venus is
Much of the Venusian surface appears to have been
thought to be unable to sustain such a process. Without
plate tectonics to dissipate heat from its mantle, Venus instead undergoes a cyclical process in which mantle temperatures rise until they reach a critical level that weakens
the crust. Then, over a period of about 100 million years,
subduction occurs on an enormous scale, completely recycling the crust.[24]

Maat Mons with a vertical exaggeration of 22.5

In 2008 and 2009, the rst direct evidence for ongoing

volcanism was observed by Venus Express, in the form of
four transient localized infrared hot spots within the rift
zone Ganis Chasma,[36][n 1] near the shield volcano Maat
Mons. Three of the spots were observed in more than one
successive orbit. These spots are thought to represent lava
freshly released by volcanic eruptions.[38][37] The actual
temperatures are not known, because the size of the hot
spots could not be measured, but are likely have been in
the 8001100 K range, relative to a normal temperature
of 740 K.[39]

shaped by volcanic activity. Venus has several times as

many volcanoes as Earth, and it has 167 large volcanoes
that are over 100 km across. The only volcanic complex
of this size on Earth is the Big Island of Hawaii.[24]:154
This is not because Venus is more volcanically active than
Earth, but because its crust is older. Earths oceanic crust
is continually recycled by subduction at the boundaries of
tectonic plates, and has an average age of about 100 million years,[30] whereas the Venusian surface is estimated
to be 300600 million years old.[22][24]

Venusian craters range from 3 km to 280 km in diameter.

No craters are smaller than 3 km, because of the eects
of the dense atmosphere on incoming objects. Objects
with less than a certain kinetic energy are slowed down
so much by the atmosphere that they do not create an impact crater.[40] Incoming projectiles less than 50 metres
in diameter will fragment and burn up in the atmosphere
before reaching the ground.[41]

Several lines of evidence point to ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. During the Soviet Venera program, the
Venera 11 and Venera 12 probes detected a constant
stream of lightning, and the Venera 12 descent probe
recorded a powerful clap of thunder soon after it landed.
The European Space Agency's Venus Express recorded

1.3 Internal structure

Without seismic data or knowledge of its moment of inertia, little direct information is available about the internal structure and geochemistry of Venus.[42] The similarity in size and density between Venus and Earth suggests

1.4

Atmosphere and climate

Global radar view of Venus (without the clouds) from

the Magellan imaging between 1990 and 1994

The internal structure of Venus the crust (outer layer), the mantle (middle layer) and the core (yellow inner layer)

they share a similar internal structure: a core, mantle, and

crust. Like that of Earth, the Venusian core is at least
partially liquid because the two planets have been cooling at about the same rate.[43] The slightly smaller size
of Venus suggests pressures are signicantly lower in its
deep interior than Earths. The principal dierence between the two planets is the lack of evidence for plate tectonics on Venus, possibly because its crust is too strong to
subduct without water to make it less viscous. This results
in reduced heat loss from the planet, preventing it from
cooling and providing a likely explanation for its lack of
an internally generated magnetic eld.[44] Instead, Venus
may lose its internal heat in periodic major resurfacing
events.[22]

1.4

Atmosphere and climate

Impact craters on the surface of Venus (image reconstructed from radar data)
Main article: Atmosphere of Venus
Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere, which consists mainly of carbon dioxide and a small amount of
nitrogen. The atmospheric mass is 93 times that of
Earths atmosphere, whereas the pressure at the planets
surface is about 92 times that at Earths surfacea pressure equivalent to that at a depth of nearly 1 kilometre under Earths oceans. The density at the surface is 65 kg/m3 ,
6.5% that of water or 50 times as dense as Earths atmosphere at 20 C at sea level. The CO2 -rich atmosphere,
along with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, generates the
strongest greenhouse eect in the Solar System, creating
surface temperatures of at least 735 K (462 C).[10][45]
This makes the Venusian surface hotter than Mercury's,
which has a minimum surface temperature of 55 K (220
C) and maximum surface temperature of 695 K (420
C),[46] even though Venus is nearly twice Mercurys distance from the Sun and thus receives only 25% of Mercurys solar irradiance. This temperature is higher than
that used for sterilization. The surface of Venus is often
said to resemble traditional accounts of Hell.[47]

Studies have suggested that billions of years ago the Venusian atmosphere was much more like Earths than it is
now, and that there may have been substantial quantities
Cloud structure in the Venusian atmosphere in 1979,
of liquid water on the surface, but after a period of 600
revealed by observations in the ultraviolet band by
million to several billion years,[48] a runaway greenhouse
Pioneer Venus Orbiter

4
eect was caused by the evaporation of that original water, which generated a critical level of greenhouse gases
in its atmosphere.[49] Although the surface conditions on
the planet are no longer hospitable to any Earthlike life
that may have formed before this event, it is possible
that life exists in the lower and middle cloud layers of
Venus.[50][51][52]

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

intermittent appearance indicates a pattern associated

with weather activity. The lightning rate is at least half of
that on Earth.[63] In 2007 the Venus Express probe discovered that a huge double atmospheric vortex exists at
the south pole.[64][65]

Another discovery made by the Venus Express probe in

2011 is that an ozone layer exists high in the atmosphere
Thermal inertia and the transfer of heat by winds in the of Venus.[66]
lower atmosphere mean that the temperature of the Venu- On January 29, 2013, ESA scientists reported that the
sian surface does not vary signicantly between the night ionosphere of the planet Venus streams outwards in a
and day sides, despite the planets extremely slow rota- manner similar to the ion tail seen streaming from a
tion. Winds at the surface are slow, moving at a few kilo- comet under similar conditions.[67][68]
metres per hour, but because of the high density of the
atmosphere at the Venusian surface, they exert a signi- Atmospheric composition
cant amount of force against obstructions, and transport
dust and small stones across the surface. This alone would
make it dicult for a human to walk through, even if the
heat, pressure and lack of oxygen were not a problem.[53]
Above the dense CO2 layer are thick clouds consisting
mainly of sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid droplets.[54][55]
These clouds reect and scatter about 90% of the sunlight
that falls on them back into space, and prevent visual observation of the Venusian surface. The permanent cloud
cover means that although Venus is closer than Earth to
the Sun, the Venusian surface is not as well lit. Strong 85 Synthetic stick absorption spectrum of a simple gas mixm/s (300 km/h) winds at the cloud tops circle the planet ture corresponding to Earths atmosphere
about every four to ve Earth days.[56] Venusian winds
move at up to 60 times the speed of the planets rotation,
whereas Earths fastest winds are only 1020% rotation
speed.[57]
The surface of Venus is eectively isothermal; it retains a constant temperature not only between day and
night but between the equator and the poles.[1][58] The
planets minute axial tiltless than 3, compared to
23 on Earthalso minimizes seasonal temperature
variation.[59] The only appreciable variation in temperature occurs with altitude. The highest point on Venus,
Maxwell Montes, is therefore the coolest point on the
planet, with a temperature of about 655 K (380 C) and
an atmospheric pressure of about 4.5 MPa (45 bar).[60][61]
In 1995, the Magellan probe imaged a highly reective
substance at the tops of the highest mountain peaks that
bore a strong resemblance to terrestrial snow. This substance arguably formed from a similar process to snow,
albeit at a far higher temperature. Too volatile to condense on the surface, it rose in gas form to cooler higher
elevations, where it then fell as precipitation. The identity
of this substance is not known with certainty, but speculation has ranged from elemental tellurium to lead sulde
(galena).[62]

Venusian atmosphere composition based on HITRAN

data[69] created using Hitran on the Web system.[70]
Green colour water vapour, red carbon dioxide, WN
wavenumber (other colours have dierent meanings,
lower wavelengths on the right, higher on the left).

1.5 Magnetic eld and core

In 1967, Venera 4 found the Venusian magnetic eld to

be much weaker than that of Earth. This magnetic eld
is induced by an interaction between the ionosphere and
the solar wind,[71][72] rather than by an internal dynamo in
the core like the one inside Earth. Venuss small induced
The clouds of Venus are capable of producing lightning
magnetosphere provides negligible protection to the at[63]
much like the clouds on Earth.
The existence of
mosphere against cosmic radiation. This radiation may
lightning had been controversial since the rst susresult in cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges.[73]
pected bursts were detected by the Soviet Venera
probes. In 20062007 Venus Express clearly detected The lack of an intrinsic magnetic eld at Venus was surwhistler mode waves, the signatures of lightning. Their prising given it is similar to Earth in size, and was expected also to contain a dynamo at its core. A dynamo

5
requires three things: a conducting liquid, rotation, and
convection. The core is thought to be electrically conductive and, although its rotation is often thought to be
too slow, simulations show it is adequate to produce a
dynamo.[74][75] This implies the dynamo is missing because of a lack of convection in the Venusian core. On
Earth, convection occurs in the liquid outer layer of the
core because the bottom of the liquid layer is much hotter
than the top. On Venus, a global resurfacing event may
have shut down plate tectonics and led to a reduced heat
ux through the crust. This caused the mantle temperature to increase, thereby reducing the heat ux out of the
core. As a result, no internal geodynamo is available to
drive a magnetic eld. Instead, the heat from the core is
being used to reheat the crust.[76]
One possibility is that Venus has no solid inner core,[77] or
that its core is not cooling, so that the entire liquid part of
the core is at approximately the same temperature. Another possibility is that its core has already completely so- Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 108 million
lidied. The state of the core is highly dependent on the kilometres (about 0.7 AU) and completes an orbit every 224.65
concentration of sulfur, which is unknown at present.[76] days. Venus is the second planet from the Sun and orbits the Sun
The weak magnetosphere around Venus means that the
solar wind is interacting directly with its outer atmosphere. Here, ions of hydrogen and oxygen are being
created by the dissociation of neutral molecules from ultraviolet radiation. The solar wind then supplies energy
that gives some of these ions sucient velocity to escape Venuss gravity eld. This erosion process results
in a steady loss of low-mass hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions, whereas higher-mass molecules, such as carbon
dioxide, are more likely to be retained. Atmospheric erosion by the solar wind probably led to the loss of most
of Venuss water during the rst billion years after it
formed. The erosion has increased the ratio of highermass deuterium to lower-mass hydrogen in the upper atmosphere by 150 times compared to the ratio in the lower
atmosphere.[78]

approximately 1.6 times (yellow trail) in Earths 365 days (blue

trail)

anti-clockwise direction as viewed from above Earths

north pole. Most planets also rotate on their axes in
an anti-clockwise direction, but Venus rotates clockwise (called "retrograde" rotation) once every 243 Earth
daysthe slowest rotation period of any planet. Because
its rotation is so slow, it is highly spherical.[80] A Venusian sidereal day thus lasts longer than a Venusian year
(243 versus 224.7 Earth days). Venuss equator rotates
at 6.5 km/h (4.0 mph), whereas Earths is approximately
1,670 km/h (1,040 mph).[81] Venuss rotation has slowed
down by 6.5 min per Venusian sidereal day in the 16
years between the Magellan spacecraft and Venus Express visits.[82] Because of the retrograde rotation, the
length of a solar day on Venus is signicantly shorter than
the sidereal day, at 116.75 Earth days (making the Venusian solar day shorter than Mercury's 176 Earth days);
2 Orbit and rotation
one Venusian year is about 1.92 Venusian (solar) days
long.[83] To an observer on the surface of Venus, the Sun
Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 0.72 would rise in the west and set in the east, though the Sun
AU (108,000,000 km; 67,000,000 mi), and completes cannot be seen from the surface due to Venuss opaque
an orbit every 224.65 days. Although all planetary or- clouds.[83]
bits are elliptical, Venuss orbit is the closest to circular, Venus may have formed from the solar nebula with a difwith an eccentricity of less than 0.01.[1] When Venus lies ferent rotation period and obliquity, reaching its current
between Earth and the Sun, a position known as inferior state because of chaotic spin changes caused by planetary
conjunction, it makes the closest approach to Earth of perturbations and tidal eects on its dense atmosphere, a
any planet at an average distance of 41 million km.[1] change that would have occurred over the course of bilThe planet reaches inferior conjunction every 584 days, lions of years. The rotation period of Venus may repon average.[1] Owing to the decreasing eccentricity of resent an equilibrium state between tidal locking to the
Earths orbit, the minimum distances will become greater Suns gravitation, which tends to slow rotation, and an
over tens of thousands of years. From the year 1 to 5383, atmospheric tide created by solar heating of the thick
there are 526 approaches less than 40 million km; then Venusian atmosphere.[84][85] The 584-day average interthere are none for about 60,158 years.[79]
val between successive close approaches to Earth is alAll the planets of the Solar System orbit the Sun in an most exactly equal to 5 Venusian solar days,[86] but the

3 OBSERVATION

hypothesis of a spinorbit resonance with Earth has been

discounted.[87]
Venus has no natural satellites.[88] It has several coorbital asteroids: the quasi-satellite 2002 VE68[89][90] and
two other temporary co-orbitals, 2001 CK32 and 2012
XE133.[91] In the 17th century, Giovanni Cassini reported a moon orbiting Venus, which was named Neith
and numerous sightings were reported over the following
200 years, but most were determined to be stars in the
vicinity. Alex Alemis and David Stevenson's 2006 study
of models of the early Solar System at the California Institute of Technology shows Venus likely had at least one
moon created by a huge impact event billions of years
ago.[92] About 10 million years later, according to the
study, another impact reversed the planets spin direction
and caused the Venusian moon gradually to spiral inward
until it collided with Venus.[93] If later impacts created
moons, these were removed in the same way. An alternative explanation for the lack of satellites is the eect The phases of Venus and evolution of its apparent diameter
of strong solar tides, which can destabilize large satellites
orbiting the inner terrestrial planets.[88]
As the brightest point-like object in the sky, Venus is a
commonly misreported "unidentied ying object". U.S.
President Jimmy Carter reported having seen a UFO in
3 Observation
1969, which later analysis suggested was probably Venus.
Countless other people have mistaken Venus for something more exotic.[95]

Venus is always brighter than all other planets or stars as seen

from Earth. Even Jupiter, the second-brightest object in this image, never matches the brightness of Venus.

Venus is always brighter than any star (apart from the

Sun). The greatest luminosity, apparent magnitude
4.9,[8] occurs during crescent phase when it is near
Earth. Venus fades to about magnitude 3 when it is
backlit by the Sun.[7] The planet is bright enough to be
seen in a mid-day clear sky,[94] and it can be easy to see
when the Sun is low on the horizon. As an inferior planet,
it always lies within about 47 of the Sun.[9]

As it moves around its orbit, Venus displays phases like

those of the Moon in a telescopic view. The planet
presents a small full image when it is on the opposite
side of the Sun. It shows a larger quarter phase when
it is at its maximum elongations from the Sun, and is at
its brightest in the night sky, and presents a much larger
thin crescent in telescopic views as it comes around to
the near side between Earth and the Sun. Venus is at its
largest and presents its new phase when it is between
Earth and the Sun. Its atmosphere can be seen in a telescope by the halo of light refracted around it.[9]

3.1 Transits
Main articles: Transits of Venus and Transit of Venus,
2012
The Venusian orbit is slightly inclined relative to Earths
orbit; thus, when the planet passes between Earth and the
Sun, it usually does not cross the face of the Sun. Transits
of Venus occur when the planets inferior conjunction coincides with its presence in the plane of Earths orbit.
Transits of Venus occur in cycles of 243 years with the
current pattern of transits being pairs of transits separated
by eight years, at intervals of about 105.5 years or 121.5
yearsa pattern rst discovered in 1639 by the English
astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks.[96]

Venus overtakes Earth every 584 days as it orbits the

Sun.[1] As it does so, it changes from the Evening Star,
visible after sunset, to the Morning Star, visible before sunrise. Although Mercury, the other inferior planet,
reaches a maximum elongation of only 28 and is often dicult to discern in twilight, Venus is hard to miss
when it is at its brightest. Its greater maximum elonga- The latest pair was June 8, 2004 and June 56, 2012.
tion means it is visible in dark skies long after sunset. The transit could be watched live from many online out-

4.1

Early studies

2004 transit of Venus

lets or observed locally with the right equipment and

The "black drop eect" as recorded during the 1769 transit
conditions.[97]
The preceding pair of transits occurred in December
1874 and December 1882; the following pair will occur
in December 2117 and December 2125.[98] Historically,
transits of Venus were important, because they allowed
astronomers to determine the size of the astronomical
unit, and hence the size of the Solar System as shown by
Horrocks in 1639.[99] Captain Cook's exploration of the
east coast of Australia came after he had sailed to Tahiti
in 1768 to observe a transit of Venus.[100][101]

3.2

Ashen light

A long-standing mystery of Venus observations is the socalled ashen lightan apparent weak illumination of its
dark side, seen when the planet is in the crescent phase.
The rst claimed observation of ashen light was made in
1643, but the existence of the illumination has never been
reliably conrmed. Observers have speculated it may result from electrical activity in the Venusian atmosphere,
but it could be illusory, resulting from the physiological
eect of observing a bright, crescent-shaped object.[102]

of the sky, and could support this view with detailed

observations.[103] The Greeks thought of the two as separate stars, Phosphorus and Hesperus, until the time of
Pythagoras in the sixth century BCE.[104] The Romans
designated the morning aspect of Venus as Lucifer, literally Light-Bringer, and the evening aspect as Vesper,
both literal translations of the respective Greek names.
The transit of Venus was rst observed in 1032 by the
Persian astronomer Avicenna, who concluded Venus is
closer to Earth than the Sun,[105] and established Venus
was, at least sometimes, below the Sun.[106] In the 12th
century, the Andalusian astronomer Ibn Bajjah observed
two planets as black spots on the face of the Sun, which
were later identied as the transits of Venus and Mercury
by the Maragha astronomer Qotb al-Din Shirazi in the
13th century.[107] The transit of Venus was also observed
by Jeremiah Horrocks on 4 December 1639 (24 November under the Julian calendar in use at that time), along
with his friend, William Crabtree, at each of their respective homes.[108]

When the Italian physicist Galileo Galilei rst observed

the planet in the early 17th century, he found it showed
4 Studies
phases like the Moon, varying from crescent to gibbous
to full and vice versa. When Venus is furthest from the
Sun in the sky, it shows a half-lit phase, and when it is
4.1 Early studies
closest to the Sun in the sky, it shows as a crescent or full
Venus was known to ancient civilizations both as the phase. This could be possible only if Venus orbited the
morning star and as the evening star, names that re- Sun, and this was among the rst observations to clearly
the Solar
ect the early assumption that these were two separate contradict the Ptolemaic geocentric model that[109][110]
System
was
concentric
and
centered
on
Earth.
objects. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa, dated 1581
BCE, shows the Babylonians understood the two were a The atmosphere of Venus was discovered in 1761 by Russingle object, referred to in the tablet as the bright queen sian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov.[111][112] Venuss at-

EXPLORATION

that more of its secrets were revealed. The rst UV observations were carried out in the 1920s, when Frank E. Ross
found that UV photographs revealed considerable detail
that was absent in visible and infrared radiation. He suggested this was due to a dense, yellow lower atmosphere
with high cirrus clouds above it.[115]
Spectroscopic observations in the 1900s gave the rst
clues about the Venusian rotation. Vesto Slipher tried to
measure the Doppler shift of light from Venus, but found
he could not detect any rotation. He surmised the planet
must have a much longer rotation period than had previously been thought.[116] Later work in the 1950s showed
EARTH
the rotation was retrograde. Radar observations of Venus
were rst carried out in the 1960s, and provided the rst
Galileo's discovery that Venus showed phases (although remain- measurements of the rotation period, which were close to
ing near the Sun in Earths sky) proved that it orbits the Sun and
the modern value.[117]
not Earth

Radar observations in the 1970s revealed details of the

Venusian surface for the rst time. Pulses of radio waves
were beamed at the planet using the 300 m (980 ft) radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory, and the echoes revealed two highly reective regions, designated the Alpha
and Beta regions. The observations also revealed a bright
region attributed to mountains, which was called Maxwell
Montes.[118] These three features are now the only ones
on Venus that do not have female names.[119]

mosphere was observed in 1790 by German astronomer

Johann Schrter. Schrter found when the planet was a
thin crescent, the cusps extended through more than 180.
He correctly surmised this was due to scattering of sunlight in a dense atmosphere. Later, American astronomer
Chester Smith Lyman observed a complete ring around
the dark side of the planet when it was at inferior conjunction, providing further evidence for an atmosphere.[113]
The atmosphere complicated eorts to determine a rotation period for the planet, and observers such as Italianborn astronomer Giovanni Cassini and Schrter incor- 5 Exploration
rectly estimated periods of about 24 h from the motions
of markings on the planets apparent surface.[114]
Main article: Observations and explorations of Venus

4.2

Ground-based research
5.1 Early eorts

Modern telescopic view of Venus from Earths surface

Mariner 2, launched in 1962

Little more was discovered about Venus until the 20th

century. Its almost featureless disc gave no hint what its
surface might be like, and it was only with the development of spectroscopic, radar and ultraviolet observations

The rst robotic space probe mission to Venus, and the

rst to any planet, began on 12 February 1961, with the
launch of the Venera 1 probe. The rst craft of the otherwise highly successful Soviet Venera program, Venera

5.3

Surface and atmospheric science

1 was launched on a direct impact trajectory, but contact was lost seven days into the mission, when the probe
was about 2 million km from Earth. It was estimated to
have passed within 100,000 km (62,000 mi) of Venus in
mid-May.[120]

than Venera 4s designers had anticipated, and its slower

than intended parachute descent meant its batteries ran
down before the probe reached the surface. After returning descent data for 93 minutes, Venera 4s last pressure
reading was 18 bar at an altitude of 24.96 km.[123]

The United States exploration of Venus also started badly

with the loss of the Mariner 1 probe on launch. The subsequent Mariner 2 mission, after a 109-day transfer orbit
on 14 December 1962, became the worlds rst successful interplanetary mission, passing 34,833 km (21,644
mi) above the surface of Venus. Its microwave and
infrared radiometers revealed that although the Venusian
cloud tops were cool, the surface was extremely hot
at least 425 C (797 F)conrming previous Earthbased measurements[121] and nally ending any hopes that
the planet might harbour ground-based life. Mariner 2
also obtained improved estimates of Venuss mass and of
the astronomical unit, but was unable to detect either a
magnetic eld or radiation belts.[122]

One day later on 19 October 1967, Mariner 5 conducted

a y-by at a distance of less than 4000 km above the cloud
tops. Mariner 5 was originally built as a backup for the
Mars-bound Mariner 4; when that mission was successful,
the probe was retted for a Venus mission. A suite of
instruments more sensitive than those on Mariner 2, in
particular its radio occultation experiment, returned data
on the composition, pressure and density of the Venusian
atmosphere.[124] The joint Venera 4 Mariner 5 data was
analysed by a combined Soviet-American science team
in a series of colloquia over the following year,[125] in an
early example of space cooperation.[126]

5.2

Atmospheric entry

Armed with the lessons and data learned from Venera 4,

the Soviet Union launched the twin probes Venera 5 and
Venera 6 ve days apart in January 1969; they encountered Venus a day apart on 16 and 17 May. The probes
were strengthened to improve their crush depth to 25 bar
and were equipped with smaller parachutes to achieve a
faster descent. Because then-current atmospheric models
of Venus suggested a surface pressure of between 75 and
100 bar, neither was expected to survive to the surface.
After returning atmospheric data for a little over 50 minutes, they were both crushed at altitudes of approximately
20 km before going on to strike the surface on the night
side of Venus.[123]

5.3 Surface and atmospheric science

Venera 7 represented an eort to return data from the
planets surface, and was constructed with a reinforced
descent module capable of withstanding a pressure of
180 bar. The module was precooled before entry and
equipped with a specially reefed parachute for a rapid
35-minute descent. While entering the atmosphere on
15 December 1970, the parachute is thought to have partially torn, and the probe struck the surface with a hard,
yet not fatal, impact. Probably tilted onto its side, it returned a weak signal, supplying temperature data for 23
minutes, the rst telemetry received from the surface of
another planet.[123]
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe

The Soviet Venera 3 probe crash-landed on Venus on 1

March 1966. It was the rst man-made object to enter the
atmosphere and strike the surface of another planet. Its
communication system failed before it was able to return
any planetary data.[123] On 18 October 1967, Venera 4
successfully entered the atmosphere and deployed science
experiments. Venera 4 showed the surface temperature
was even hotter than Mariner 2 had measured, at almost
500 C, and the atmosphere was 90 to 95% carbon dioxide. The Venusian atmosphere was considerably denser

180-degree panorama of the Venusian surface from the Soviet

Venera 9 lander

The Venera program continued with Venera 8 sending

data from the surface for 50 minutes, after entering the
atmosphere on 22 July 1972. Venera 9, which entered the

10

EXPLORATION

atmosphere of Venus on 22 October 1975, and Venera

10, which entered the atmosphere three days later, sent
the rst images of the Venusian landscape. The two landing sites presented dierent terrains in the immediate
vicinities of the landers: Venera 9 had landed on a 20degree slope scattered with boulders around 3040 cm
across; Venera 10 showed basalt-like rock slabs interspersed with weathered material.[127]

Position of Venera landing sites returning images form the surface

16 were placed in orbit to conduct mapping of the Venusian terrain with synthetic aperture radar.[132]

The Pioneer Venus orbiter

In the meantime, the United States had sent the Mariner

10 probe on a gravitational slingshot trajectory past Venus
on its way to Mercury. On 5 February 1974, Mariner
10 passed within 5790 km of Venus, returning over
4000 photographs as it did so. The images, the best
then achieved, showed the planet to be almost featureless in visible light, but ultraviolet light revealed details
in the clouds that had never been seen in Earth-bound
observations.[128]

In 1985, the Soviet Union took advantage of the opportunity to combine missions to Venus and Comet Halley,
which passed through the inner Solar System that year.
En route to Halley, on 11 and 15 June 1985, the two
spacecraft of the Vega program each dropped a Venerastyle probe (of which Vega 1s partially failed) and released a balloon-supported aerobot into the upper atmosphere. The balloons achieved an equilibrium altitude of
around 53 km, where pressure and temperature are comparable to those at Earths surface. They remained operational for around 46 hours, and discovered the Venusian atmosphere was more turbulent than previously estimated, and subject to high winds and powerful convection
cells.[133][134]

The American Pioneer Venus project consisted of two

separate missions.[129] The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was in- 5.4
serted into an elliptical orbit around Venus on 4 December 1978, and remained there for over 13 years, studying the atmosphere and mapping the surface with radar.
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe released a total of four
probes, which entered the atmosphere on 9 December
1978, returning data on its composition, winds and heat
uxes.[130]

Radar mapping

Four more Venera lander missions took place over the

next four years, with Venera 11 and Venera 12 detecting Venusian electrical storms;[131] and Venera 13 and
Venera 14, landing on 1 and 5 March 1982, returning
the rst colour photographs of the surface. All four missions deployed parachutes for braking in the upper atmosphere, then released them at altitudes of 50 km, the
dense lower atmosphere providing enough friction to allow for unaided soft landings. Both Venera 13 and 14
analysed soil samples with an on-board X-ray uorescence spectrometer, and attempted to measure the compressibility of the soil with an impact probe.[131] Venera
14 struck its own ejected camera lens cap and its probe
failed to contact the soil.[131] The Venera program came Magellan radar topographical map of Venus (false colour)
to a close in October 1983, when Venera 15 and Venera

5.5

Current and future missions

11

Artists impression of a Stirling cooled Venus Rover.[141]

Five global views of Venus by Magellan.

Early Earth-based radar provided a basic idea of the surface. The Pioneer Venus and the Veneras provided improved resolution.
The United States Magellan probe was launched on 4
May 1989, with a mission to map the surface of Venus
with radar.[26] The high-resolution images it obtained
during its 4 1 2 years of operation far surpassed all prior
maps and were comparable to visible-light photographs
of other planets. Magellan imaged over 98% of the Venusian surface by radar,[135] and mapped 95% of its gravity
eld. In 1994, at the end of its mission, Magellan was sent
to its destruction into the atmosphere of Venus to quantify its density.[136] Venus was observed by the Galileo
and Cassini spacecraft during y-bys on their respective
missions to the outer planets, but Magellan was the last
dedicated mission to Venus for over a decade.[137][138]

5.5

Current and future missions

NASAs MESSENGER mission to Mercury performed

two y-bys of Venus in October 2006 and June 2007, to
slow its trajectory for an eventual orbital insertion of Mercury in March 2011. It collected scientic data on Venus
during both y-bys.[139]
The Venus Express probe was designed and built by the
European Space Agency. Launched on 9 November
2005 by a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket procured through
Starsem, it successfully assumed a polar orbit around
Venus on 11 April 2006.[140] The probe is undertaking a
detailed study of the Venusian atmosphere and clouds, including mapping of the planets plasma environment and
surface characteristics, particularly temperatures. One of
the rst results from Venus Express is the discovery that
a huge double atmospheric vortex exists at the southern
pole.[140]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) devised a Venus orbiter, Akatsuki (formerly Planet-C),
which was launched on 20 May 2010, but the craft failed
to enter orbit in December 2010. Its main engine is still
oine, so it will use its small attitude control thrusters
to make another orbital insertion attempt on December
7, 2015.[142] Planned investigations include surface imaging with an infrared camera and experiments designed to
conrm the presence of lightning, as well as the determination of the existence of current surface volcanism.[143]
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch
a mission to Mercury in January 2017 called
BepiColombo, which will perform two y-bys of
Venus before it reaches Mercury orbit in 2020.[144][145]
NASA will launch the Solar Probe Plus in 2018, which
will perform seven Venus y-bys during its six-year, 24orbit reconnaissance of the Sun.[146]
Under its New Frontiers Program, NASA has proposed a
lander mission called the Venus In-Situ Explorer to land
on Venus to study surface conditions and investigate the
elemental and mineralogical features of the regolith. The
probe would be equipped with a core sampler to drill into
the surface and study pristine rock samples not weathered by the harsh surface conditions. A Venus atmospheric and surface probe mission, Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer (SAGE), was proposed
by NASA as a candidate mission study in the 2009 New
Frontiers selection,[147] but the mission was not selected
for ight.
The Venera-D (Russian: -) probe is a proposed
Russian space probe to Venus, to be launched around
2024,[148] to make remote-sensing observations around
the planet and deploying a lander, based on the Venera
design, capable of surviving for a long duration on the
surface. Other proposed Venus exploration concepts include rovers, balloons, and aeroplanes.[149]
In late 2013 the Venus Spectral Rocket Experiment took
place, which launched a sub-orbital space telescope.

12

IN CULTURE

Throughout history and cultures, the planet has been of

remarkable importance as an especial object of observation, reection and projection. Popular beliefs and observations resulted in dierent and in parts similar patterns
in mythology as well as phenomenological descriptions,
attributions and depictions, e.g. in astrology. Such developments in manifestations of human thought reect the
planets image as a result of early observations of Venus
and their impact on culture and science.

6.1 Etymology
The adjective Venusian is commonly used for items related to Venus, though the Latin adjective is the rarely
Venus aircraft concept
used Venerean; the archaic Cytherean is still occasionally
encountered. Venus is the only planet in the Solar System
that is named after a female gure.[n 2] (Three dwarf plan5.6 Manned y-by concept
etsCeres, Eris and Haumeaalong with many of the
rst discovered asteroids[156] and some moons (such as
Main article: Manned Venus Flyby
the Galilean moons) also have feminine names. Earth and
the Moon also have feminine names in many languages
A manned Venus y-by mission, using Apollo program Gaia/Terra, Selene/Lunabut the female mythological
hardware, was proposed in the late 1960s.[150] The mis- gures who personied them were named after them, not
sion was planned to launch in late October or early the other way around.)[157]
November 1973, and would have used a Saturn V to send
three men to y past Venus in a ight lasting approximately one year. The spacecraft would have passed ap- 6.2 Venus symbol
proximately 5,000 km (3,100 mi) from the surface of
Venus about four months later.[150] Inspiration Mars in- Main article: Venus symbol
The astronomical symbol for Venus is the same as
cludes a manned Venus yby in their 2021 mission.[151]

5.7

Sample return

Various concepts for a Venus sample return include a

high-speed upper atmosphere collection, an atmosphere
sample return by slowing down and entering then returning, and a surface sample return.[152]

5.8

Spacecraft timeline

This is a list of attempted and successful spacecraft that

have left Earth to explore Venus more closely.[153] Venus
has also been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in
Earth orbit, and distant telescopic observations are another source of information about Venus.

Venera-D is a possible Russian mission in the 2020s[155]

In culture

See also Venus (mythology), Venus (astrology) and

Historical observations and impact

that used in biology for the female sex: a circle with a

small cross beneath.[158] The Venus symbol also represents femininity, and in Western alchemy stood for the
metal copper.[158] Polished copper has been used for mirrors from antiquity, and the symbol for Venus has sometimes been understood to stand for the mirror of the
goddess.[158]

13

Colonization and terraforming

Main articles: Colonization of Venus and Terraforming

of Venus
Due to its extremely hostile conditions, a surface colony

10 References
[1] Williams, David R. (15 April 2005). Venus Fact Sheet.
NASA. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
[2] Yeomans, Donald K. HORIZONS Web-Interface for
JPL Horizons On-Line
Venus (Major Body=2)".
Ephemeris System.Select Ephemeris Type: Orbital
Elements, Time Span: 2000-01-01 12:00 to 2000-0102. (Target Body: Venus and Center: Sun should be
defaulted to.) Results are instantaneous osculating values
at the precise J2000 epoch.
[3] The MeanPlane (Invariable plane) of the Solar System
passing through the barycenter. 3 April 2009. Retrieved
2009-04-10. (produced with Solex 10 written by Aldo
Vitagliano; see also Invariable plane)
[4] Seidelmann, P. Kenneth; Archinal, Brent A.; A'Hearn,
Michael F. et al. (2007). Report of the IAU/IAG
Working Group on cartographic coordinates and
rotational elements:
2006.
Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy 98 (3): 155180.
Bibcode:2007CeMDA..98..155S. doi:10.1007/s10569007-9072-y.

Artists conception of a terraformed Venus

on Venus is not possible with current technology. The atmospheric pressure and temperature approximately fty
kilometres above the surface are similar to those at
Earths surface and Earth air (nitrogen and oxygen) would
be a lifting gas in the Venusian atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This has led to proposals for oating cities
in the Venusian atmosphere.[159] Aerostats (lighter-thanair balloons) could be used for initial exploration and ultimately for permanent settlements.[159] Among the many
engineering challenges are the dangerous amounts of sulfuric acid at these heights.[159]

See also
Aspects of Venus
Geodynamics of Venus
Venus zone

[5] Report on the IAU/IAG Working Group on cartographic

coordinates and rotational elements of the planets and
satellites. International Astronomical Union. 2000. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
[6] Mallama, A.; Wang, D.; Howard, R.A. (2006). Venus
phase function and forward scattering from H2 SO4 ".
Icarus 182 (1): 1022. Bibcode:2006Icar..182...10M.
doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2005.12.014.
[7] Mallama, A. (2011). Planetary magnitudes. Sky and
Telescope 121 (1): 5156.
[8] HORIZONS Web-Interface for Venus (Major
Body=299)" (Geophysical data). JPL Horizons On-Line
Ephemeris System. 27 February 2006. Retrieved
2010-11-28. (Using JPL Horizons you can see that on
2013-Dec-08 Venus will have an apmag of 4.89)
[9] Espenak, Fred (1996). Venus: Twelve year planetary
ephemeris, 19952006. NASA Reference Publication
1349. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved
2006-06-20.
[10] Venus: Facts & Figures. NASA. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
[11] Lawrence, Pete (2005). The Shadow of Venus. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

[1] Misstated as Ganiki Chasma in the press release and scientic publication.[37]

[12] Hashimoto, G. L.; Roos-Serote, M.; Sugita, S.; Gilmore,

M. S.; Kamp, L. W.; Carlson, R. W.; Baines, K.
H. (2008).
Felsic highland crust on Venus suggested by Galileo Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer data. Journal of Geophysical Research, Planets 113: E00B24. Bibcode:2008JGRE..11300B24H.
doi:10.1029/2008JE003134.

[2] Goddesses such as Gaia and Terra were named after Earth,
and not vice versa.

[13] David Shiga Did Venuss ancient oceans incubate life?,

New Scientist, 10 October 2007

Notes

14

[14] B.M. Jakosky, Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets,

in Beatty, Petersen and Chaikin (eds,), The New Solar System, 4th edition 1999, Sky Publishing Company (Boston)
and Cambridge University Press (Cambridge), pp. 175
200
[15] Caught in the wind from the Sun. ESA (Venus Express).
28 November 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
[16] Lopes, Rosaly M. C.; Gregg, Tracy K. P. (2004). Volcanic
worlds: exploring the Solar Systems volcanoes. Springer.
p. 61. ISBN 3-540-00431-9.
[17] Atmosphere of Venus. The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceght. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
[18] Esposito, Larry W. (9 March 1984).
Sulfur
Dioxide:
Episodic Injection Shows Evidence for
Active Venus Volcanism.
Science 223 (4640):
10721074.
Bibcode:1984Sci...223.1072E.
doi:10.1126/science.223.4640.1072. PMID 17830154.
Retrieved 2009-04-29.
[19] Bullock, Mark A.; Grinspoon, David H. (March
2001). The Recent Evolution of Climate on Venus.
Icarus 150 (1): 1937. Bibcode:2001Icar..150...19B.
doi:10.1006/icar.2000.6570.
[20] Basilevsky, Alexander T.; Head, James W., III (1995).
Global stratigraphy of Venus: Analysis of a random sample of thirty-six test areas. Earth, Moon, and Planets 66 (3): 285336. Bibcode:1995EM&P...66..285B.
doi:10.1007/BF00579467.
[21] Kaufmann, W. J. (1994). Universe. New York: W. H.
Freeman. p. 204. ISBN 0-7167-2379-4.
[22] Nimmo, F.; McKenzie, D. (1998). Volcanism and Tectonics on Venus. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary
Sciences 26 (1): 2353. Bibcode:1998AREPS..26...23N.
doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.26.1.23.
[23] Strom, R. G.; Schaber, G. G.; Dawsow, D. D.
(1994).
The global resurfacing of Venus.
Journal of Geophysical Research 99 (E5):
1089910926.
Bibcode:1994JGR....9910899S.
doi:10.1029/94JE00388.
[24] Frankel, Charles (1996). Volcanoes of the Solar System.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47770-0.
[25] Batson, R.M.; Russell J. F. (1822 March 1991).
Naming the Newly Found Landforms on Venus (PDF).
Procedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
XXII. Houston, Texas. p. 65. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
[26] Young, C., ed. (August 1990). The Magellan Venus Explorers Guide (JPL Publication 90-24 ed.). California:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
[27] Davies, M. E.; Abalakin, V. K.; Bursa, M.; Lieske, J.
H.; Morando, B.; Morrison, D.; Seidelmann, P. K.; Sinclair, A. T.; Yallop, B.; Tjuin, Y. S. (1994). Report of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements of the Planets and
Satellites. Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy 63 (2): 127. Bibcode:1996CeMDA..63..127D.
doi:10.1007/BF00693410.

10

REFERENCES

[28] USGS Astrogeology: Rotation and pole position for the

Sun and planets (IAU WGCCRE)". Retrieved 22 October
2009.
[29] The Magellan Venus Explorers Guide. Retrieved 22
October 2009.
[30] Karttunen, Hannu; Kroger, P.; Oja, H.; Poutanen, M.;
Donner, K. J. (2007). Fundamental Astronomy. Springer.
p. 162. ISBN 3-540-34143-9.
[31] Venus also zapped by lightning. CNN. 29 November
2007. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007.
Retrieved 2007-11-29.
[32] Have Venusian volcanoes been caught in the act?". Venus
Express website. ESA. 2012-12-03. Archived from the
original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
[33] Glaze, L. S. (1999). Transport of SO2 by explosive volcanism on Venus. Journal of Geophysical Research 104
(E8): 1889918906. Bibcode:1999JGR...10418899G.
doi:10.1029/1998JE000619. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
[34] Marcq, E.; Bertaux, J.-L.; Montmessin, F.; Belyaev, D.
(2012-12-02). Variations of sulphur dioxide at the cloud
top of Venuss dynamic atmosphere. Nature Geoscience.
doi:10.1038/ngeo1650.
[35] Romeo, I.; Turcotte, D. L. (2009).
The
frequency-area distribution of volcanic units on
Venus:
Implications for planetary resurfacing.
Icarus 203 (1): 13.
Bibcode:2009Icar..203...13R.
doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.03.036.
[36] Ganis Chasma. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Retrieved 2015-0619.
[37] Lakdawalla, Emily (2015-06-18). Transient hot spots on
Venus: Best evidence yet for active volcanism. Planetary
Society. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
[38] Hot lava ows discovered on Venus. Venus Express
website. ESA. 2015-06-18. Archived from the original
on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
[39] Shalygin, E. V.; Markiewicz, W. J.; Basilevsky, A.
T.; Titov, D. V.; Ignatiev, N. I.; Head, J. W. (201506-17). Active volcanism on Venus in the Ganiki
Chasma rift zone.
Geophysical Research Letters.
doi:10.1002/2015GL064088.
[40] Herrick, R. R.; Phillips, R. J. (1993).
Eects
of the Venusian atmosphere on incoming meteoroids and the impact crater population.
Icarus
Bibcode:1994Icar..112..253H.
112 (1): 253281.
doi:10.1006/icar.1994.1180.
[41] David Morrison (2003). The Planetary System. Benjamin
Cummings. ISBN 0-8053-8734-X.
[42] Goettel, K. A.; Shields, J. A.; Decker, D. A. (1620
March 1981). Density constraints on the composition of
Venus. Proceedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science
Conference. Houston, TX: Pergamon Press. pp. 1507
1516. Bibcode:1982LPSC...12.1507G. Retrieved 200907-12.

15

[43] Faure, Gunter; Mensing, Teresa M. (2007). Introduction

to planetary science: the geological perspective. Springer
eBook collection. Springer. p. 201. ISBN 1-4020-52332.

[57] Normile, Dennis (7 May 2010). Mission to probe

Venuss curious winds and test solar sail for propulsion.
Science 328 (5979): 677. Bibcode:2010Sci...328..677N.
doi:10.1126/science.328.5979.677-a. PMID 20448159.

[44] Nimmo, F. (2002). Crustal analysis of Venus from

Magellan satellite observations at Atalanta Planitia, Beta
Regio, and Thetis Regio. Geology 30 (11): 987990.
Bibcode:2002Geo....30..987N.
doi:10.1130/00917613(2002)030<0987:WDVLAM>2.0.CO;2.
ISSN
0091-7613.

[58] Lorenz, Ralph D.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Withers, Paul

G.; McKay, Christopher P. (2001). Titan, Mars and
Earth: Entropy Production by Latitudinal Heat Transport
(PDF). Ames Research Center, University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. Retrieved 2007-08-21.

[45] Venus. Case Western Reserve University. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
[46] Lewis, John S. (2004). Physics and Chemistry of the Solar
System (2nd ed.). Academic Press. p. 463. ISBN 0-12446744-X.

[59] Interplanetary Seasons. NASA. Retrieved 2007-08-21.

[60] Basilevsky A. T.; Head J. W. (2003). The surface of Venus. Reports on Progress in Physics 66
Bibcode:2003RPPh...66.1699B.
(10): 16991734.
doi:10.1088/0034-4885/66/10/R04.

[47] Henry Bortman (2004). Was Venus Alive? 'The Signs

are Probably There'". space.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31.

[61] McGill G. E.; Stofan E. R.; Smrekar S. E. (2010). Venus

tectonics. In T. R. Watters; R. A. Schultz. Planetary Tectonics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 81120. ISBN
978-0-521-76573-2.

[48] Grinspoon, David H.; Bullock, M. A. (October 2007).

Searching for Evidence of Past Oceans on Venus. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 39: 540.
Bibcode:2007DPS....39.6109G

[62] Otten, Carolyn Jones (2004). ""Heavy metal snow on

Venus is lead sulde. Washington University in St Louis.
Retrieved 2007-08-21.

[49] Kasting, J. F. (1988). Runaway and moist greenhouse

atmospheres and the evolution of Earth and Venus.
Icarus 74 (3): 472494. Bibcode:1988Icar...74..472K.
doi:10.1016/0019-1035(88)90116-9. PMID 11538226.
[50] Venusian Cloud Colonies at the Wayback Machine
(archived August 7, 2007) :: Astrobiology Magazine
[51] Georey A. Landis Astrobiology: The Case for Venus at
the Wayback Machine (archived August 7, 2011)
[52] Cockell, C. S. (December 1999). Life on Venus.
Planetary and Space Science 47 (12): 14871501.
Bibcode:1999P&SS...47.1487C.
doi:10.1016/S00320633(99)00036-7.
[53] Moshkin, B. E.; Ekonomov, A. P.; Golovin Iu. M.
(1979). Dust on the surface of Venus. Kosmicheskie Issledovaniia (Cosmic Research) 17: 280285.
Bibcode:1979CoRe...17..232M.
[54] Krasnopolsky, V. A.; Parshev, V. A. (1981). Chemical composition of the atmosphere of Venus. Nature
292 (5824): 610613. Bibcode:1981Natur.292..610K.
doi:10.1038/292610a0.
[55] Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A. (2006). Chemical composition of Venus atmosphere and clouds: Some unsolved problems. Planetary and Space Science 54
(1314): 13521359. Bibcode:2006P&SS...54.1352K.
doi:10.1016/j.pss.2006.04.019.
[56] W. B., Rossow; A. D., del Genio; T., Eichler (1990).
Cloud-tracked winds from Pioneer Venus OCPP images (PDF). Journal of
the Atmospheric Sciences 47 (17):
20532084.
Bibcode:1990JAtS...47.2053R.
doi:10.1175/1520ISSN
0469(1990)047<2053:CTWFVO>2.0.CO;2.
1520-0469.

[63] Russell, S. T.; Zhang, T. L.; Delva, M.; Magnes,

W.; Strangeway, R. J.; Wei, H. Y. (2007).
Lightning on Venus inferred from whistlermode waves in the ionosphere.
Nature 450
(7170): 661662.
Bibcode:2007Natur.450..661R.
doi:10.1038/nature05930. PMID 18046401.
[64] Hand, Eric (November 2007).
European mission reports from Venus. Nature (450): 633660.
doi:10.1038/news.2007.297.
[65] Sta (28 November 2007). Venus oers Earth climate
clues. BBC News. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
[66] ESA nds that Venus has an ozone layer too. ESA. 6
October 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
[67] Sta (January 29, 2013). When A Planet Behaves Like
A Comet. ESA. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
[68] Kramer, Miriam (January 30, 2013). Venus Can Have
'Comet-Like' Atmosphere. Space.com. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
[69]
[70]
[71] Dolginov, Nature of the Magnetic Field in the Neighborhood of Venus, COsmic Research, 1969
[72] Kivelson G. M.; Russell, C. T. (1995). Introduction to
Space Physics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521-45714-9.
[73] Upadhyay, H. O.; Singh, R. N. (April 1995). Cosmic ray Ionization of Lower Venus Atmosphere.
Advances in Space Research 15 (4):
99108.
Bibcode:1995AdSpR..15...99U.
doi:10.1016/02731177(94)00070-H.

16

[74] Luhmann J. G.; Russell C. T. (1997). J. H. Shirley; R.

W. Fainbridge, eds. Venus: Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere. Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences (Chapman and
Hall, New York). ISBN 978-1-4020-4520-2. Retrieved
2009-06-28.
[75] Stevenson, D. J. (15 March 2003). Planetary magnetic
elds. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 208 (12): 1
11. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.208....1S. doi:10.1016/S0012821X(02)01126-3.
[76] Nimmo, Francis (November 2002). Why does Venus
lack a magnetic eld?" (PDF). Geology 30 (11): 987
990. Bibcode:2002Geo....30..987N. doi:10.1130/00917613(2002)030<0987:WDVLAM>2.0.CO;2.
ISSN
0091-7613. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
[77] Konopliv, A. S.; Yoder, C. F. (1996). Venusian
k2 tidal Love number from Magellan and PVO
tracking data.
Geophysical Research Letters 23
(14): 18571860. Bibcode:1996GeoRL..23.1857K.
doi:10.1029/96GL01589. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
[78] Svedhem, Hkan; Titov, Dmitry V.; Taylor,
Fredric W.; Witasse, Olivier (November 2007).
Venus as a more Earth-like planet. Nature 450
(7170): 629632.
Bibcode:2007Natur.450..629S.
doi:10.1038/nature06432. PMID 18046393.
[79] Venus Close Approaches to Earth as predicted by Solex
11. Retrieved 2009-03-19. (numbers generated by
Solex)

10

REFERENCES

[88] Sheppard, Scott S.; Trujillo, Chadwick A. (July 2009).

A survey for satellites of Venus. Icarus 202 (1):
1216. arXiv:0906.2781. Bibcode:2009Icar..202...12S.
doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.02.008.
[89] Mikkola, S.; Brasser, R.; Wiegert, P.; Innanen, K.
(July 2004). Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of
Venus. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 351 (3): L63. Bibcode:2004MNRAS.351L..63M.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07994.x.
[90] de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R.
(November 2012). On the dynamical evolution of
2002 VE68. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 427 (1): 728.
arXiv:1208.4444.
Bibcode:2012MNRAS.427..728D. doi:10.1111/j.13652966.2012.21936.x.
[91] de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. Asteroid 2012 XE133, a transient
companion to Venus.
Monthly Notices of the
Royal Astronomical Society 432 (2):
886893.
arXiv:1303.3705.
Bibcode:2013MNRAS.432..886D.
doi:10.1093/mnras/stt454.
[92] Musser, George (10 October 2006). Double Impact May
Explain Why Venus Has No Moon. Scientic American.
Retrieved 2011-12-05.
[93] Tytell, David (10 October 2006). Why Doesn't Venus
Have a Moon?". SkyandTelescope.com. Retrieved 200708-03.

[80] Venus. Squyres, Steven W. Retrieved 23 May 2014.

[94] Tony Flanders (25 February 2011). See Venus in Broad

Daylight!". Sky & Telescope.

[81] Bakich, Michael E. (2000). The Cambridge planetary

handbook. Cambridge University Press. p. 50. ISBN
0-521-63280-3.

[95] Krystek, Lee. Natural Identied Flying Objects. The

Unngatural Museum. Retrieved 2006-06-20.

[82] Could Venus be shifting gear?". European Space

Agency. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2015.

[96] Anon. Transit of Venus. History. University of Central

Lancashire. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
[97] A. Boyle Venus transit: A last-minute guide MSNBC

[83] Space Topics: Compare the Planets: Mercury, Venus,

Earth, The Moon, and Mars. Planetary Society. Retrieved 2007-04-12.

[98] Espenak, Fred (2004). Transits of Venus, Six Millennium Catalog: 2000 BCE to 4000 CE. Transits of the
Sun. NASA. Retrieved 2009-05-14.

[84] Correia, Alexandre C. M.; Laskar, Jacques; de Surgy,

Olivier Nron (May 2003). Long-term evolution of [99]
the spin of Venus I. theory (PDF). Icarus 163 (1):
123. Bibcode:2003Icar..163....1C. doi:10.1016/S00191035(03)00042-3.
[100]

Kollerstrom, Nicholas (1998). Horrocks and the Dawn

of British Astronomy. University College London. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
Hornsby, T. (1771). The quantity of the Suns parallax,
as deduced from the observations of the transit of Venus
on June 3, 1769. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society 61 (0): 574579. doi:10.1098/rstl.1771.0054.

[85] Correia, A. C. M.; Laskar, J. (2003).

Longterm evolution of the spin of Venus: II. numerical simulations (PDF). Icarus 163 (1): 2445.
Bibcode:2003Icar..163...24C.
doi:10.1016/S0019- [101] Woolley, Richard (1969). Captain Cook and the Transit
1035(03)00043-5.
of Venus of 1769. Notes and Records of the Royal Society
of London 24 (1): 1932. doi:10.1098/rsnr.1969.0004.
[86] Gold, T.; Soter, S. (1969). Atmospheric tides and
ISSN 0035-9149. JSTOR 530738.
the resonant rotation of Venus. Icarus 11 (3): 356
366. Bibcode:1969Icar...11..356G. doi:10.1016/0019- [102] Baum, R. M. (2000). The enigmatic ashen light of
1035(69)90068-2.
Venus: an overview. Journal of the British Astronomical
Association 110: 325. Bibcode:2000JBAA..110..325B.
[87] Shapiro, I. I.; Campbell, D. B.; de Campli, W. M. (June
1979). Nonresonance rotation of Venus. Astrophysical [103] Waerden, Bartel (1974). Science awakening II: the birth
Journal, Part 2 Letters to the Editor 230: L123L126.
of astronomy. Springer. p. 56. ISBN 90-01-93103-0.
Bibcode:1979ApJ...230L.123S. doi:10.1086/182975
Retrieved 2011-01-10.

17

[104] Pliny the Elder (1991). Natural History II:3637. trans- [118] Campbell, D. B.; Dyce, R. B.; Pettengill G. H.
lated by John F. Healy. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK:
(1976). New radar image of Venus. Science 193
Penguin. pp. 1516.
(4258): 11231124. Bibcode:1976Sci...193.1123C.
doi:10.1126/science.193.4258.1123. PMID 17792750.
[105] Goldstein, Bernard R. (March 1972). Theory and Observation in Medieval Astronomy. Isis (University of [119] Carolynn Young (August 1990). Chapter 8, Whats
Chicago Press) 63 (1): 3947 [44]. doi:10.1086/350839.
in a Name?". The Magellan Venus Explorers Guide.
NASA/JPL. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
[106] Sally P. Ragep (2007). Ibn Sn: Ab Al alusayn
ibn Abdallh ibn Sn". In Thomas Hockey. The Bi- [120] Mitchell, Don (2003). Inventing The Interplanetary
ographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer SciProbe. The Soviet Exploration of Venus. Retrieved 2007ence+Business Media. pp. 570572.
12-27.
[107] S. M. Razaullah Ansari (2002). History of oriental as- [121] Mayer; McCullough & Sloanaker (January 1958). Obtronomy: proceedings of the joint discussion-17 at the
servations of Venus at 3.15-cm Wave Length. Astro23rd General Assembly of the International Astronomical
physical Journal (The Astrophysical Journal) 127: 1.
Union, organised by the Commission 41 (History of AsBibcode:1958ApJ...127....1M. doi:10.1086/146433.
tronomy), held in Kyoto, August 2526, 1997. Springer.
p. 137. ISBN 1-4020-0657-8.
[122] Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1962). Mariner-Venus 1962
Final Project Report (PDF). SP-59. NASA.
[108] Kollerstrom, Nicholas (2004). William Crabtrees Venus
transit observation (PDF). Proceedings IAU Colloquium [123] Mitchell, Don (2003). Plumbing the Atmosphere of
No. 196, 2004. International Astronomical Union. ReVenus. The Soviet Exploration of Venus. Retrieved 2007trieved 10 May 2012.
12-27.
[109] Palmieri, Paolo (2001). Galileo and the discovery of the [124] Eshleman, V.; Fjeldbo, G. (1969).
The atmophases of Venus. Journal for the History of Astronomy
sphere of Venus as studied with the Mariner
21 (2): 109129. Bibcode:2001JHA....32..109P.
5 dual radio-frequency occultation experiment
(PDF). Radio Science.
SU-SEL-69-003 (NASA)
[110] Fegley, B (2003). Venus (Treatise on Geochemistry ed.).
4 (10):
879.
Bibcode:1969RaSc....4..879F.
Elsevier.
doi:10.1029/RS004i010p00879.
[111] Marov, Mikhail Ya. (2004). D.W. Kurtz, ed. Mikhail
[125] Report on the Activities of the COSPAR Working Group
Lomonosov and the discovery of the atmosphere of Venus
VII. Preliminary Report, COSPAR Twelfth Plenary Meetduring the 1761 transit. Proceedings of IAU Colloing and Tenth International Space Science Symposium.
quium No. 196 (Preston, U.K.: Cambridge UniverPrague, Czechoslovakia: National Academy of Sciences.
sity Press): 209219. Bibcode:2005tvnv.conf..209M.
1124 May 1969. p. 94.
doi:10.1017/S1743921305001390.
[112] Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. Britannica online en- [126] Sagdeev, Roald; Eisenhower, Susan (28 May 2008).
United States-Soviet Space Cooperation during the Cold
cyclopedia. Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved
War. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
2009-07-12.
[113] Russell, H. N. (1899).
The Atmosphere of [127] Mitchell, Don (2003). First Pictures of the Surface of
Venus. The Soviet Exploration of Venus. Retrieved 2007Venus.
Astrophysical Journal 9:
284299.
12-27.
Bibcode:1899ApJ.....9..284R. doi:10.1086/140593.
[114] Hussey, T. (1832). On the Rotation of Venus. Monthly [128] Dunne, J.; Burgess, E. (1978). The Voyage of Mariner
10 (PDF). SP-424. NASA. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2: 78126.
Bibcode:1832MNRAS...2...78H.
[129] Colin, L.; Hall, C. (1977).
The Pioneer
Venus Program.
Space Science Reviews 20
[115] Ross, F. E. (1928). Photographs of Venus. AstrophysBibcode:1977SSRv...20..283C.
(3):
283306.
ical Journal. 6892: 57. Bibcode:1928ApJ....68...57R.
doi:10.1007/BF02186467.
doi:10.1086/143130.
[116] Slipher, V. M. (1903).
A Spectrographic [130] Williams, David R. (6 January 2005). Pioneer Venus
Investigation
of
the
Rotation
Velocity
of
Project Information. NASA Goddard Space Flight CenVenus.
Astronomische
Nachrichten
163
ter. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
Bibcode:1903AN....163...35S.
(34):
35.
[131] Mitchell, Don (2003). Drilling into the Surface of
doi:10.1002/asna.19031630303.
Venus. The Soviet Exploration of Venus. Retrieved 2007[117] Goldstein, R. M.; Carpenter, R. L. (1963).
12-27.
Rotation of Venus:
Period Estimated from
Radar Measurements.
Science 139 (3558): [132] Greeley, Ronald; Batson, Raymond M. (2007). Planetary
Bibcode:1963Sci...139..910G.
910911.
Mapping. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978doi:10.1126/science.139.3558.910. PMID 17743054.
0-521-03373-2. Retrieved 2009-07-19.

18

11

EXTERNAL LINKS

[133] Linkin, V.; Blamont, J.; Preston, R. (1985). [151] NBC

The Vega Venus Balloon experiment.
Bulletin
[152] Venus sample return missions A range of science, a
of the American Astronomical Society 17:
722.
range of costs
Bibcode:1985BAAS...17..722L.
[153] Chronology of Venus Exploration (NASA)
[134] Sagdeev, R. Z.; Linkin, V. M.; Blamont, J. E.;
Preston, R. A. (1986).
The VEGA Venus [154] The Planetary Society An unheralded anniversary
Balloon Experiment.
Science 231 (4744):
[155]
14071408.
Bibcode:1986Sci...231.1407S.
doi:10.1126/science.231.4744.1407. JSTOR 1696342. [156] Nicholson, Seth B. (1961). The Trojan Asteroids.
Astronomical Society of the Pacic Leaets 8: 239.
PMID 17748079.
Bibcode:1961ASPL....8..239N.
[135] Lyons, Daniel T.; Saunders, R. Stephen; Grith, Douglas G. (MayJune 1995). The Magellan Venus mapping [157] Cessna, Abby. Mythology of the Planets. Universe Today. Fraser Cain. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
mission: Aerobraking operations. Acta Astronautica
35 (911): 669676. Bibcode:1995AcAau..35..669L. [158] Stearn, William (May 1968). The Origin of the Male
doi:10.1016/0094-5765(95)00032-U.
and Female Symbols of Biology. Taxon 11 (4): 109
113. doi:10.2307/1217734. JSTOR 1217734.
[136] Magellan begins termination activities. JPL Universe. 9
September 1994. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
[159] Landis, Georey A. (2003). Colonization of Venus.
AIP Conference Proceedings 654 (1). pp. 11931198.
[137] Van Pelt, Michel (2006). Space invaders: how robotic
doi:10.1063/1.1541418.
spacecraft explore the Solar System. Springer. pp. 186
189. ISBN 0-387-33232-4.
[138] Davis, Andrew M.; Holland, Heinrich D.; Turekian, Karl
K. (2005). Meteorites, comets, and planets. Elsevier. p.
489. ISBN 0-08-044720-1.
[139] Timeline. MESSENGER. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
[140] Venus Express. ESA Portal. European Space Agency.
Retrieved 9 February 2008.
[141] G. A. Landis, Robotic Exploration of the Surface and Atmosphere of Venus, paper IAC-04-Q.2.A.08, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 59, 7, 517580 (October 2006). See
animation
[142] Stephen Clark (February 7, 2015). Japanese craft to get
second chance after missing Venus in 2010. Retrieved
26 April 2015.
[143] Venus Climate Orbiter PLANET-C"".
trieved 9 February 2008.

JAXA. Re-

11 External links
Venus Prole at NASAs Solar System Exploration
site
Missions to Venus (Hosted by NASA)
Gallery of Venus exploration images (Hosted by
NASA)
The Soviet Exploration of Venus, Image catalog
Venus page at The Nine Planets
NASA page about the Venera missions
Magellan mission home page
Pioneer Venus information from NASA
Detailed information about transits of Venus

[144] BepiColombo. ESA Spacecraft Operations. Retrieved 9

February 2008.

Geody Venus, a search engine for surface features

[145] title. Retrieved 4 January 2015.

Chasing Venus, Observing the Transits of Venus

Smithsonian Institution Libraries

[146] Solar Probe Plus: A NASA Mission to Touch the Sun.

solarprobe.jhuapl.edu. Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

Maps of Venus in NASA World Wind

Venus Crater Database Lunar and Planetary Institute

[147] New Frontiers missions 2009. NASA. Retrieved 201112-09.

Calculate/show the current phase of Venus (U.S.

Naval Observatory)

[148] ": "-" 2024

". Gazieta.ru. 9 April 2012. Retrieved September
26, 2013.

Venus Astronomy Cast episode No. 50, includes full

transcript.

[149] Atmospheric Flight on Venus. NASA Glenn Research

Center Technical Reports. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
[150] Feldman, M. S.; Ferrara, L. A.; Havenstein, P. L.;
Volonte, J. E.; Whipple, P. H. (1967). Manned Venus
Flyby, February 1, 1967 (PDF). Bellcomm, Inc.

Thorsten Dambeck: The Blazing Hell Behind the

Veil, MaxPlanckResearch, 4/2009, p. 2633
Gray, Meghan (2009). Venus. Sixty Symbols.
Brady Haran for the University of Nottingham.
Venus Exploration Themes February 2014

11.1

11.1

Cartographic resources

Cartographic resources

PDS Map-a-Planet & Venus Nomenclature

Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature Venus
(USGS)
Map of Venus
Movie of Venus at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

19

20

12

12
12.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Venus Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus?oldid=668952611 Contributors: NathanBeach, Brion VIBBER, Eloquence, Vicki

Rosenzweig, Mav, Bryan Derksen, Zundark, The Anome, Taw, Jeronimo, Malcolm Farmer, -- April, Mark, Ed Poor, Aidan ElliottMcCrea, Amillar, Alex.tan, Andre Engels, Eob, Danny, XJaM, JeLuF, William Avery, SimonP, GrahamN, Fonzy, Dwheeler, Olivier,
Rickyrab, Fransvannes, Rbrwr, Spi~enwiki, Seldon~enwiki, Edward, Patrick, Infrogmation, Ken Arromdee, Michael Hardy, Tim Starling, Oliver Pereira, Lexor, Nixdorf, Ixfd64, Tango, Cyde, Minesweeper, Alo, Kosebamse, Shimmin, Egil, Looxix~enwiki, Ihcoyc,
Mdebets, Ahoerstemeier, Snoyes, CatherineMunro, TUF-KAT, TUF-KAT, Angela, Mark Foskey, Glenn, Poor Yorick, Kwekubo, Evercat, Lancevortex, Mxn, Raven in Orbit, Schneelocke, Hike395, Hashar, Timwi, RickK, Stone, Andrewman327, Doradus, Haukurth,
CBDunkerson, Robertb-dc, Tpbradbury, Dragons ight, Furrykef, Taxman, Ringomassa, Head, Samsara, Traroth, Anupamsr, Bloodshedder, Raul654, Wetman, BenRG, Jeq, Owen, Lumos3, Phil Boswell, Robbot, MrJones, Celsius1414, Naddy, Modulatum, Smallweed,
Chris Roy, Merovingian, Academic Challenger, Rursus, Geogre, Bkell, Hadal, UtherSRG, Wereon, Anthony, Angilbas, Peter L, Carnildo,
ShutterBugTrekker, Nephelin~enwiki, Centrx, Giftlite, Reubenbarton, Christopher Parham, Djinn112, Awolf002, Jyril, Sj, TOttenville8,
Harp, Nichalp, Wolfkeeper, Tom harrison, Lupin, Herbee, Karn, Alterego, Everyking, Curps, Michael Devore, Henry Flower, Wikibob,
Jackbrown, Joe Kress, Erdal Ronahi, Sdsher, Gareth Wyn, Kainaw, Rchandra, Gzornenplatz, Matt Crypto, Python eggs, Jackol, Bobblewik, Cam, Wmahan, Innitysnake, OldakQuill, ChicXulub, Gadum, Andycjp, DocSigma, Alexf, Geni, Xmnemonic, Chris Edgemon,
Yath, Antandrus, The Singing Badger, HorsePunchKid, Zaha, MistToys, Piotrus, Vanished user 1234567890, Kusunose, FelineAvenger,
Rdsmith4, Samy Merchi, RetiredUser2, Tomruen, Icairns, B.d.mills, Neutrality, Urhixidur, Edsanville, Irpen, Ukexpat, Fg2, JohnArmagh,
Deglr6328, Chmod007, M1ss1ontomars2k4, Marnevell, Lacrimosus, Spiy sperry, DanielCD, Ultratomio, EugeneZelenko, Indosauros,
Mark Zinthefer, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Avriette, Guanabot, BlueMars, Supercoop, FraKctured, Martin TB, Vsmith, Florian
Blaschke, ArnoldReinhold, Rasmusdf, Ponder, D-Notice, Dbachmann, Mani1, Chrislee, MuDavid, Pavel Vozenilek, SpaceFrog, Bender235, NeilTarrant, Maye, Violetriga, Evice, Brian0918, RJHall, Ylee, Sfahey, El C, Fenevad, Huntster, Joanjoc~enwiki, Kwamikagami,
Evand, Worldtraveller, Tverbeek, Remember, Art LaPella, Femto, Adambro, Bobo192, Circeus, Smalljim, NightDragon, .:Ajvol:., ZayZayEM, Elipongo, Angie Y., Nesnad, Kappa, La goutte de pluie, Jojit fb, Timsheridan, BillCook, Sam Korn, Fwb22, Gsklee, A2Kar,
Jumbuck, Danski14, Bob rulz, Alansohn, Gary, Tablizer, Eric Kvaalen, Keenan Pepper, Moanzhu, Andrewpmk, Paleorthid, Andrew Gray,
Sp82, Cbotman, AzaToth, Lectonar, Corwin8, JanSderback, Mlm42, Hu, Avenue, DreamGuy, Snowolf, Mbloore, Velella, BanyanTree,
Juan Toledo, Rebroad, Evil Monkey, RainbowOfLight, Inge-Lyubov, Cmapm, Zxcvbnm, Gene Nygaard, Dan East, HenryLi, Tr00st,
Leopard~enwiki, Red dwarf, Adrian.benko, BerserkerBen, Duke33, Feezo, Siafu, Gmaxwell, WilliamKF, Angr, Rorschach, Mel Etitis,
Woohookitty, Jannex, DonPMitchell, ChrisNoe, TigerShark, Ylem, MrNexx, Volcanopele, Decrease789, Plek, BillC, Bigfrozenhead, Chris
Mason, Zealander, Bricktop, Nefertum17, MONGO, Eleassar777, Pi@k~enwiki, Tabletop, Keta, Kelisi, Ch'marr, TotoBaggins, BartBenjamin, Cat11~enwiki, Steinbach, X444, Sengkang, GregorB, CharlesC, Jon Harald Sby, Mayz, Oldelpaso, Prashanthns, Smartech~enwiki,
Teemu Leisti, Driftwoodzebulin, Cataclysm, Emerson7, MrSomeone, Paxsimius, Mandarax, Ashmoo, Graham87, Marskell, JiMidnite,
Johnny Mnemonic, Deltabeignet, Magister Mathematicae, TAKASUGI Shinji, FreplySpang, RxS, Pentawing, Jcmo, Canderson7, Funkymuskrat, Drbogdan, Akubhai, Rjwilmsi, Urbane Legend, Vary, Hiberniantears, JoshuacUK, Tawker, Mentality, Heah, Mike Peel, Crazynas, Bubba73, Boccobrock, AndyKali, Brighterorange, Afterwriting, Ttwaring, Wkruse, GregAsche, Sango123, DirkvdM, Dbigwood,
Yamamoto Ichiro, FayssalF, Titoxd, Ian Pitchford, SchuminWeb, RobertG, Crazycomputers, Finsen, Nivix, RexNL, Gurch, Arctic.gnome,
Enon, R Lee E, TeaDrinker, Alphachimp, Malhonen, Srleer, DybrarH, Zotel, Gurubrahma, Glenn L, Kelpi, Phoenix2~enwiki, King of
Hearts, Chobot, Raincheerleader, Rewster, DVdm, PainMan, Mysekurity, Debivort, Cobaahema, Banaticus, Elfguy, Roboto de Ajvol, The
Rambling Man, Satanael, Mercury McKinnon, TexasAndroid, Koveras, Deeptrivia, Jimp, RussBot, Kauner, Fabartus, Anonymous editor,
Gspr, Witan, Qrasy, Hydrargyrum, Stephenb, Mithridates, Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Cpuwhiz11, Kimchi.sg, Dorthonion,
Bovineone, Wimt, Ebow, Anomalocaris, NawlinWiki, SEWilcoBot, Wiki alf, BGManofID, Itisan, Exir Kamalabadi, RazorICE, Seegoon,
Bmdavll, Irishguy, Brandon, Dppowell, Rmky87, Raven4x4x, Semperf, Tony1, Martinwilke1980, Wknight94, Noosfractal, Leptictidium, Manjithkaini, Bdell555, Mike Serfas, Show no mercy, 21655, Deville, Twintop, Zzuuzz, Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, Closedmouth, Rpvdk, Pb30, KGasso, Acer, Shakil Mustafa, JoanneB, Symon, Fram, Hurricane Devon, Georey.landis, HereToHelp, Kaippally,
Wbrameld, Nixer, RunOrDie, Kungfuadam, Junglecat, Phr en, Iago Dali, Serendipodous, DVD R W, West Virginian, Luk, Rayd8, Deuar,
IslandHopper973, Sardanaphalus, Veinor, Sintonak.X, SmackBot, Mark Tranchant, KnowledgeOfSelf, Hydrogen Iodide, CoderDennis,
Lsorin, Jagged 85, Davewild, Thunderboltz, WookieInHeat, EncycloPetey, Jrockley, Jab843, Mdd4696, Lotse, ProveIt, Canthusus, TheDoctor10, Timsbleung, HalfShadow, JFHJr, PeterSymonds, Ema Zee, Gilliam, DividedByNegativeZero, Oscarthecat, Skizzik, Saros136,
Amatulic, Master Jay, Keegan, JonRidinger, Geneb1955, Agateller, Quinsareth, Persian Poet Gal, Jlao04, Northern, Cbh, Anchoress,
Hollow Wilerding, SchftyThree, Hibernian, No-Bullet, Ikiroid, Ctbolt, Baa, DHN-bot~enwiki, Theredpill2003@hotmail.com, Sbharris,
Darth Panda, Lewis007, Scwlong, Salmar, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, VJDocherty, DHeyward, Murder1, Mrwuggs, Astrobhadauria~enwiki, Wikipedia brown, Krsont, Andy120290, Addshore, Kcordina, Edivorce, Rocksandfossils, Aldaron, Krich, Robma, Nakon,
TMW, Dreadstar, Wjtimmerman, Mini-Geek, Hgilbert, Jan.Kamenicek, Polonium, Omnipotence, Adrigon, SpiderJon, MonkeyMumford,
Zonk43, Risker, Ck lostsword, FelisLeo, NeilFraser, Sarfa, Ohconfucius, GoldenTorc, Thejerm, SashatoBot, Mksword, NormalGoddess,
Kuru, Titus III, John, JanderVK, Drahcir, Jrothwell, Soumyasch, Linnell, JoshuaZ, Kreuzfeld, JorisvS, Temple, Scetoaux, IronGargoyle,
SpyMagician, Jess Mars, Keber, Heliogabulus, Chrisd87, Ckatz, The Man in Question, RandomCritic, A. Parrot, Serpentinite, Beetstra,
Stevebritgimp, Jhpace1, George The Dragon, Xiaphias, Don Alessandro, Tobyw87, Kliqjaw, Ryulong, Sims2789, RichardF, Novangelis,
Elb2000, Jose77, Peyre, Floridan, Politepunk, Papertiger, BranStark, Iridescent, Majorbonkers, Michaelbusch, Alessandro57, Scooter20,
Newone, J Di, Igoldste, Takarada, CapitalR, Ewulp, Mssgill, Tawkerbot2, Dlohcierekim, George100, Poolkris, Arhain, P-Chan, CalebNoble, Sarvagnya, Vjamesv, Gustavh, JForget, Adam Keller, VoxLuna, CmdrObot, Ale jrb, Geremia, TheHerbalGerbil, Memetics, Sasho84,
Tuvas, BeenAroundAWhile, N3X15, Runningonbrains, MiShogun, BKalesti, Ruslik0, GHe, Orannis, CuriousEric, Dwolsten, MarsRover,
Todowd, Joelholdsworth, WeggeBot, Moreschi, Borislav Dopudja, Nilfanion, Ufviper, Rudjek, Schauf, Icek~enwiki, Badseed, Nbound, Dominicanpapi82, ArgentTurquoise, Steel, DrunkenSmurf, Vanished user vjhsduheuiui4t5hjri, Gogo Dodo, Red Director, Zginder, MattButts,
JFreeman, Flowerpotman, Llort, Ykliu, Scooteristi, Rafeal, SakuraKitsune45, Tdvance, Tawkerbot4, DumbBOT, Chrislk02, YorkBW, Doc
W, Paddles, Asenine, Robertinventor, Thenewestdoctorwho, Brad101, SteveMcCluskey, Sancort, Omicronpersei8, Cancun771, Theirishpianist~enwiki, Maat333, OakAve222, FrancoGG, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Tepidpond, Interested2, Cassie, cole, Keraunos, Andyjsmith, Anthius, Halibut Thyme, Headbomb, Newton2, Ranger 1 (usurped), A3RO, HelenKMarks, Brichcja, Catsmoke, DoomsDay349, Grayshi,
Nick Number, TangentCube, Dawnseeker2000, Natalie Erin, CTZMSC3, Northumbrian, Escarbot, KrakatoaKatie, AntiVandalBot, Yupik,
MR 17, CommanderCool1654, Majorly, Yonatan, Luna Santin, Clarenceville Trojan, Ricnun, Opelio, MeNext, Dr. Submillimeter, LibLord, Farosdaughter, Jrizzy4, SkoreKeep, Aliwalla, Storkk, Myanw, PresN, Gkhan, JAnDbot, Deective, Husond, MER-C, Skomorokh,
CosineKitty, Nthep, Something14, Janejellyroll, Miltopia, Db099221, Sln3412, LGDubs, Andonic, Natureguy1980, Roleplayer, Rentafer-

12.2

Images

21

ret, Argent Cerulean, Who is like God?, Hardee67, Rothorpe, Sami assahli, FaerieInGrey, Tomst, WolfmanSF, Murgh, Suradasa, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, Sushant gupta, Bcsr4ever, Adam keller, Kuyabribri, Hasek is the best, JamesBWatson, Jerome Kohl, Eltener, , Think
outside the box, Stotan, Lucyin, Bigdan201, Avicennasis, Wikiwhat?, Catgut, Panser Born, Spookiejjr, Cyktsui, BatteryIncluded, ArthurWeasley, Arbeiter, Torchiest, 28421u2232nfenfcenc, BilCat, Joeloveslego, Jc1346729, MorningGrace, IanUK, AdoreMila, Just James,
Glen, DerHexer, JaGa, Megalodon99, TheRanger, Markco1, Kheider, Gjd001, Oren0, Bmf 51, Cli smith, Hdt83, MartinBot, Schmloof,
FlieGerFaUstMe262, PAK Man, PatrickLMT, Vlink, Theodore141, Jim.henderson, Naohiro19, Rettetast, Jerry teps, Uriel8, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, AlexiusHoratius, Genesis12~enwiki, Paranomia, Watch37264, J.delanoy, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Tinwelint, DrKiernan,
Bogey97, DomBot, 16345, Uncle Dick, All Is One, Jameswheeleratskool, Mike.lifeguard, KrytenKoro, Anoushirvan, WarthogDemon,
Thaurisil, Nemrac2, ABTU, Rod57, IdLoveOne, Vegasprof, Bot-Schafter, Katalaveno, McSly, Vandriel1325, Vineeth.vooppala, DJ1AM,
Gurchzilla, Jancoop, (jarbarf), M-le-mot-dit, Mortbrew, WHeimbigner, NewEnglandYankee, Rominandreu, Fountains of Bryn Mawr,
Gallador, Supersmell, SJP, Malerin, Salander86, Sopwith07, BigHairRef, Sunderland06, Myson45, Juliancolton, Haljackey, Cometstyles,
Iamjasonyo, WJBscribe, Aaronbeemer, Burzmali, Gwen Gale, Zamonin, Natl1, LastChanceToBe, Belegur, Useight, Retal, Hork the Zombie, Gpetrov, NotoriousG, Xiahou, Squids and Chips, Dialashop, Idioma-bot, BradDeharder, Spellcast, Domoregan, Glossologist, Wikieditor06, ACSE, Lights, Philfan108, Deor, VolkovBot, Thewolf37, ABF, Parishp, Mrh30, Hersfold, Joelikesweiner, Indubitably, Vlma111,
Toddles29, Maile66, Katydidit, FergusM1970, WarddrBOT, Barneca, Sdsds, Philip Trueman, Tangz22, TXiKiBoT, DUBJAY04, BuickCenturyDriver, Dwmr, Inuendo, Z.E.R.O., Auent Rider, Gerrish, Finlux, Qxz, Someguy1221, Lradrama, DennyColt, Corvus cornix, MasterSci, Greatparty, JhsBot, Leafyplant, Sanfranman59, Lukezuke, Tranquility2007, Seb az86556, Pooblahsteak1234, Maxim, Quindraco,
Damrung, Theperson427, Sultec, BigDunc, Pious7, Complex (de), Wearetheliving, Sarc37, Mcattell, Soulja nyn3, Pumpkin900, Sorrento11, Tzsche, Synthebot, Gorank4, Jimbob33, Enviroboy, Sai2020, Anna512, Burntsauce, FKmailliW, Gaaralover1991, Sampaultan,
SchumiChamp, WatermelonPotion, Stephen J. Brooks, Penciltime, Dmcq, AlleborgoBot, Arkore, CT Cooper, OldEmpire, Mars2035,
RedRabbit1983, EmxBot, Tedstryk, Polkmn7, H92, Mikepoop, EJF, Akira112, SieBot, SpArC, Biggysmalls~enwiki, Zenlax, Jim77742,
PlanetStar, WereSpielChequers, BotMultichill, Hertz1888, Arf!, Oldag07, Krawi, Gerakibot, Michaeltsantini, Mbz1, Caltas, Richardpask101, Sk8drummerd, Nickyddogg, GeiwTeol, Kimblethestupid, Miremare, Converse rock, Arhead, Jacob102193, Arda Xi, WRK,
Keilana, Grahamlandies, Mikepoo, RadicalOne, Toddst1, Meh123123, Tiptoety, Radon210, Oda Mari, Arbor to SJ, Metroidhunterx,
Travis Evans, Zfaith, Gublenk, Phantasystar000, Wombatcat, Prestonmag, Mimihitam, OsamaBinLogin, Jdl108, Oxymoron83, Antonio Lopez, Nuttycoconut, RMB1987, Steven Zhang, Arkaysmith, Tombomp, AMCKen, Iain99, Murlough23, Techman224, Drsteevo,
RSStockdale, BenoniBot~enwiki, Emesee, Harry the Dirty Dog, Joldy, OKBot, Maelgwnbot, MadmanBot, LonelyMarble, Mygerardromance, Hamiltondaniel, Anyeverybody, Ascidian, Dabomb87, Dolphin51, Gantuya eng, Pdxx123, C0nanPayne, Starcluster, 7macaw,
Phaedrus7, Freewayguy, Athenean, MBK004, Elassint, ClueBot, LAX, Geopiet, Avenged Eightfold, Jackollie, Snigbrook, Starkiller88,
T.Neo, Ndenison, Taroaldo, Arakunem, Taliska, WanderingFool, VQuakr, Tomisgooood, Regibox, FractalFusion, Dragon of the Rust,
Niceguyedc, Blanchardb, , Richerman, Iainhammer, Piledhigheranddeeper, Stepshep, Excirial, BSWright, CrazyChemGuy,
GoldenGoose100, Hargitai, WikiZorro, Purlack Rave, Gtstricky, Sun Creator, Tyler, Peter.C, Jotterbot, Imsohood, Iohannes Animosus, Ember of Light, Nvvchar, Enoch Wong, Yayyyyy, LeinSora, Jaericho, Icykenny,
, The Red, Banime, JasonAQuest, Stepheng3,
Thingg, DerBorg, MelonBot, Johnuniq, HumphreyW, NERIC-Security, DumZiBoT, XLinkBot, Boybrain656, Rror, Ost316, Edo leitner, Nepenthes, Avoided, WikHead, 68Kustom, Alexius08, Vianello, Aunt Entropy, Airplaneman, Ejosse1, RyanCross, Frog luva96,
Gggh, Daodillman, HexaChord, D.M. from Ukraine, Numerocity, Letaphsa, Slgue, Maldek, XxAzerothxX, Nickhalavanja, Mortense,
Roentgenium111, Willking1979, AVand, Lagus970, DOI bot, LenardLenard, Element16, JJ606, Landon1980, Captain-tucker, Binary
TSO, DougsTech, Fieldday-sunday, Mr. Wheely Guy, CanadianLinuxUser, Pitomba, Wlgst wfre, BenTrotsky, Mentisock, LaaknorBot, Huntyou3, Pirate Kitten, Computermonitor, Redheylin, 37ophiuchi, Nick9902, Ld100, Debresser, Soccermidgetkid, Bae gab1978,
LinkFA-Bot, Austinsunc, Sky13b, Whyicool96, Jeannie126, Cutey gk princess, Gogu10000, Marwaja100, Setwisohi, 84user, Numbo3bot, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Cocoamarsh, David0811, WikiDreamer Bot, Jarble, Bartledan, HerculeBot, Ferrariman909, Jackelve, Yobot,
EdwardLane, 2D, Amble, Becky Sayles, FregatPallada, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, AmeliorationBot, CRIPP45, Lime123456789,
Szajci, Synchronism, AnomieBOT, Archon 2488, Anggel95, HarryMichaelJones, IRP, Dwayne, WikipedaUsername, Neko85, Plcards1,
AdjustShift, Kingpin13, Mema1221, Flewis, Materialscientist, Limideen, ImperatorExercitus, ArthurDuhurst, Rtyq2, The High Fin Sperm
Whale, Citation bot, Text mdnp, Maxis ftw, ArthurBot, LilHelpa, Ands.66, Xqbot, TinucherianBot II, Timir2, S h i v a (Visnu), Sionus,
Iadrian yu, Capricorn42, Gigemag76, Nissanguy24, A455bcd9, Lionboy-Renae, Smk65536, DSisyphBot, Tyrol5, Mlpearc, Srich32977,
Gwcoey, Almabot, Arsia Mons, J04n, GrouchoBot, ChildofIndigo13, Rhskate, Mark Schierbecker, RibotBOT, Alan.A.Mick, Enceladusgeysers, Charvest, Doulos Christos, The Wiki Octopus, GhalyBot, Wikipedianerd413, Us441, Fotaun, Legobot III, Mooremoore,
FrescoBot, NSH002, LucienBOT, Originalwana, Io Herodotus, Lookang, Lothar von Richthofen, Thayts, SiIIyLiIIyPiIIy, KokkaShinto,
RoyGoldsmith, Jonathansuh, Endofskull, Bobmoney263364, Bayview101, Lahme lover, Nohars, Citation bot 1, Kobrabones, Falstaswims,
Gautier lebon, Pinethicket, AQUIMISMO, HRoestBot, Jonesey95, Tom.Reding, Pmokeefe, RedBot, Lars Washington, MastiBot, Mohehab, Lucylogan, DReifGalaxyM31, Hprmedina, Hessamnia, Fartherred, Aelfan1, IVAN3MAN, Arbero, Kgrad, FoxBot, TobeBot, Cocu,
Dustynyfeathers, Vrenator, Extra999, Pbrower2a, Marcos Elias de Oliveira Jnior, Tbhotch, Obsidian Soul, Brakoholic, RjwilmsiBot,
TjBot, Bento00, Burmiester, Mandolinface, Grondemar, DASHBot, Shabidoo, EmausBot, KurtLC, Racerx11, Primefac, GoingBatty,
MartinThoma, Gwillhickers, Torturella, Muqtasidmansoor, Tommy2010, Weanisland3, Tlinnemeyer, P. S. F. Freitas, ZroBot, CanonLawJunkie, F, Maxviwe, A2soup, Nicolas Eynaud, AvicAWB, Hevron1998, H3llBot, Zap Rowsdower, Ocaasi, 3sdanog, Anglais1, L
Kensington, Sailsbystars, Miyaka409, Honesty First, ChuispastonBot, Tahjanaa, Planet photometry, Mikhail Ryazanov, ClueBot NG,
Macarenses, Adonis Laerte Mezzano, Ericobnn, Xession, Movses-bot, Dru of Id, Bobbyb373, AlwaysUnite, North Atlanticist Usonian,
Mightymights, Helpful Pixie Bot, Newyork1501, Gob Lofa, Bibcode Bot, MKar, Gomada, SpaceChimp1992, Darouet, Badon, Davidiad,
, Dodshe, FutureTrillionaire, Cadiomals, Rgbc2000, OldSquiyBat, Mothdust79, Brb94, Soerfm, 7903xc, Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1, Colinmartin74, Ubiquinoid, Irockz, SoylentPurple, Justincheng12345-bot, W.D., Nick.mon, Shiltsev, Dexbot,
Darekk2, Advlokanath, Blobbie244, IceOnFire97, Sidelight12, Tony Mach, Anti-Quasar, Climatophile, Reatlas, , Jcpag2012, Jodosma, Praemonitus, Blackbombchu, Pwnzor.ak, Exoplanetaryscience, Astredita, Andylara2014, Crossswords, Monkbot, Filedelinkerbot,
Douglas Cotton, Scarlettail, Stetson7, Tetra quark, Isambard Kingdom, Bu180, KasparBot and Anonymous: 1423

12.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original

artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Europe.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Flag_of_Europe.svg License: Public domain
Contributors:
File based on the specication given at [1]. Original artist: User:Verdy p, User:-x-, User:Paddu, User:Nightstallion, User:Funakoshi,

22

12

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

User:Jeltz, User:Dbenbenn, User:Zscout370

File:Flag_of_Japan.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg License: Public domain Contributors: http://pravo.levonevsky.org/ Original artist:
File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg License:
PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:MESSENGER_-_Venus_630_nm_stretch.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/MESSENGER_-_
Venus_630_nm_stretch.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?page=1&
gallery_id=2&image_id=327 Original artist: NASA / JHU/APL
File:Maat_Mons_on_Venus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Maat_Mons_on_Venus.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Magellan_Venus_globes.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Magellan_Venus_globes.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: http://solarviews.com/cap/venus/venview.htm (image link) Original artist: NASA/JPL
File:Mariner_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Mariner_2.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/info;jsessionid=22sidxj3uc1s0?id=PIA04594&orgid=10 Original artist: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(NASA-JPL)
File:Mgn_p39146.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Mgn_p39146.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Office-book.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Office-book.svg License: Public domain Contributors: This and myself. Original artist: Chris Down/Tango project
File:Phases-of-Venus.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Phases-of-Venus.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Based on PD raster image Image:Phasesofvenus.jpg, http://history.nasa.gov/SP-424/p4.jpg Original artist: Nichalp 09:56,
11 June 2006 (UTC)
File:Phases_Venus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Phases_Venus.jpg License: Attribution Contributors: Transferred from fr.wikipedia; transfer was stated to be made by User:Mu301. Original artist: Statis Kalyvas - VT-2004 programme
(Original uploader was Sting at fr.wikipedia)
File:Pioneer_Venus_2_inspection.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Pioneer_Venus_2_inspection.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/info;jsessionid=6v6flfypvl37?id=AC77-0376-8&orgid=9 Original artist:
NASA Ames Research Center (NASA-ARC)
File:Pioneer_Venus_orbiter.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Pioneer_Venus_orbiter.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Solar_system.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Solar_system.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Speakerlink-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Speakerlink-new.svg License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Kelvinsong
File:Symbol_book_class2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Symbol_book_class2.svg License: CC
BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Prol by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Prol
File:Synthetic_Venus_atmosphere_absorption_spectrum.gif Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/
Synthetic_Venus_atmosphere_absorption_spectrum.gif License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work using: Hitran on the Web
Information System http://hitran.iao.ru/ (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA), Cambridge, MA, USA and V.E. Zuev
Insitute of Atmosperic Optics (IAO), Tomsk, Russia). Original artist: Darekk2 using Hitran on the Web Information System
File:Synthetic_atmosphere_absorption_spectrum.gif Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Synthetic_
atmosphere_absorption_spectrum.gif License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work using: Hitran on the Web Information System.
http://hitran.iao.ru/ (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA), Cambridge, MA, USA, V.E. Zuev Insitute of Atmosperic
Optics (IAO), Tomsk, Russia). Original artist: Darekk2 using Hitran on the Web Information System
File:TerraformedVenus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/TerraformedVenus.jpg License: CC-BYSA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: Ittiz at English Wikipedia
File:Venera9.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Venera9.png License: ? Contributors:
http://www.mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogVenus.htm Original artist:
Soviet Union/Roscosmos/Venera 9
File:Venus,_Earth_size_comparison.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Venus%2C_Earth_size_
comparison.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg
Venus globe.jpg Original artist: NASA
Venus image: NASA / JPL (from Magellan)
File:Venus-pacific-levelled.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Venus-pacific-levelled.jpg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Venus_with_reflection.jpg Original artist: Brocken Inaglory
File:Venus-real.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Venus-real.jpg License: ? Contributors: http://
astrosurf.com/nunes/explor/explor_m10.htm Original artist: NASA/Ricardo Nunes

12.3

Content license

23

File:Venus-real_color.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Venus-real_color.jpg License: Public domain

Contributors: http://www.astrosurf.com/nunes/explor/explor_m10.htm Original artist: NASA or Ricardo Nunes
File:Venus2_mag_big.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Venus2_mag_big.png License: Public domain Contributors: Image from NASA website, and converted to PNG format Original artist: Magellan Team, JPL, NASA.
File:VenusLanderTopo.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/VenusLanderTopo.jpg License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors:
Pioneer Original artist: Zamonin
File:Venus_Drawing.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Venus_Drawing.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Original artist: Captain James Cook and Charles Green
File:Venus_Rover.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Venus_Rover.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Venus_airplane.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Venus_airplane.JPG License: PD Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Venus_globe.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Venus_globe.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00104 Original artist: NASA
File:Venus_structure.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Venus_structure.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Venus_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Venus_symbol.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Unicode U+2640 (). Original artist: Kyle the hacker
File:Venus_xray_420.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Venus_xray_420.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: CHANDRA X-ray Observatory CXC Operated for NASA by SAO, url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2001/venus/ Original artist: NASA/MPE/K.Dennerl et al.
File:Venusorbitsolarsystem.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Venusorbitsolarsystem.gif License: CC
BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Lookang many thanks to author of original simulation = Todd K. Timberlake author of
Easy Java Simulation = Francisco Esquembre
File:Venuspioneeruv.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Venuspioneeruv.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: NSSDC Photo Gallery Venus direct link to the big TIFF Version:ftp://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/hi-res/planetary/
venus/pvo_uv_790226.tiff Original artist: NASA
File:Venustransit_2004-06-08_07-49.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Venustransit_2004-06-08_
07-49.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: photo taken by Jan Herold (German Wikipedian) Original artist: de:Benutzer:Klingon
File:Vnus_par_Hubble.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/V%C3%A9nus_par_Hubble.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/solar_system/pr1995016g/web_print/ Original artist: L. Esposito (University of Colorado, Boulder), and NASA
File:Vnus_tlescope.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/V%C3%A9nus_t%C3%A9lescope.jpg License: GFDL Contributors: http://astrosurf.com/lecleire/2007/venuscolor_100907_05h22.jpg Original artist: Marc Lecleire
File:Wikibooks-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikibooks-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.
File:Wikinews-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: This is a cropped version of Image:Wikinews-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Simon 01:05, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Updated by Time3000 17 April 2007 to use ocial Wikinews colours and appear correctly on dark backgrounds. Originally uploaded by
Simon.
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau
File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Wikiversity-logo-en.svg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Snorky
File:Wiktionary-logo-en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Vector version of Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Fvasconcellos (talk contribs),
based on original logo tossed together by Brion Vibber

12.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0