The science
The night sky is full objects of incredible beauty which can be seen even with the naked eye. If you do not have special equipment to look at the sky - it does not matter, some amazing things can be seen without it.
Spectacular comets, bright planets, distant nebulae, twinkling stars and constellations can all be found in the night sky.
The only important thing to remember about light pollution in big cities. In the city, the light from the lanterns and windows of buildings is so strong that all the most interesting things in the night sky turns out to be hidden, therefore, to see these amazing things, you should go out of town.
light pollution
brightest planet
Very hot neighbor of the Earth - Venus can rightfully be proud of the title the brightest planet in the sky. The brightness of the planet is due to highly reflective clouds, as well as the fact that it is close to the Earth. Venus approximately 6 times brighter than other neighbors of the Earth - Mars and Jupiter.
Venus is brighter than any other object in the night sky, with the exception of the Moon, of course. Its maximum visible value is around 5. For comparison: the apparent magnitude of the full moon is -13 , that is, it is approximately 1600 times brighter than Venus.
In February 2012, a unique conjunction of three of the brightest objects in the night sky was observed: Venus, Jupiter and Moon which could be seen just after sunset.
The largest star
The largest star known to science - VY Canis Major, a type M red hypergiant, which is located at a distance of approximately 3800 light years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major.
Scientists have estimated that VY Canis Majoris could be more than 2100 times the size of the Sun. If it is placed in the solar system, then the edges of this monster will be located approximately in the orbit of Saturn.
The surface of a hypergiant can hardly be called noticeably outlined, since this star is approximately 1000 times less dense than our planet's atmosphere at sea level.
VY Canis Major is the source a lot of controversy in the scientific world, since the assessment of its size goes beyond the boundaries of the current stellar theory. Astronomers believe that the star VY Canis Majoris during the next 100 thousand years explode and die, turning into a "hypernova" and releasing an enormous amount of energy, and this energy will be more than any other supernova.
brightest star
In 1997, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found that the brightest known star is a star at a distance 25 thousand light years from us. This star highlights 10 million times more energy than the sun. In size, this star is also much larger than our star. If you place it in the center of the solar system, it will take the orbit of the Earth.
Scientists have suggested that this large star, located in the region of the constellation Sagittarius, creates a cloud of gas around it, which is called Nebula "Pistol". Thanks to this nebula, the star also received the name Pistol Star.
Unfortunately, this amazing star is not visible from Earth due to the fact that it is hidden by the dust clouds of the Milky Way. The brightest star in the night sky can you name a star? Sirius located in the constellation Canis Major. The magnitude of Sirius is -1,44.
You can observe Sirius from anywhere on Earth, except for the northern regions. The brightness of a star is explained not only by its high luminosity, but at a relatively close distance. Sirius is located approximately at 8.6 light years from the solar system.
The most beautiful star in the sky
Many stars are known for their brilliance of different colors, for example, a system consisting of blue and orange stars. Albireo, or bright red giant star Antares. However, the most beautiful of all the stars visible to the naked eye can be called a red-orange star. Mu Cephei, which is also called "Herschel's garnet star" after its first explorer, the British astronomer William Herschel.
The red giant Mu Cephei is located in the constellation Cepheus. This is pulsating variable star and its maximum brightness changes 3.7 to 5.0. The color of the star also changes. Most of the time, Mu Cephei is a rich orange-red, but sometimes it takes on a strange purple hue.
Although Mu Cephei is a little dim, its reddish tint can be seen even with the naked eye, and if you take a simple binoculars, the spectacle will be more impressive.
The most distant space object
The farthest object visible to the naked eye is andromeda galaxy, which includes about 400 billion stars and which was noticed back in the 10th century by the ancient Persian astronomer Al Sufi. He described this object as "a small cloud".
Even if armed with binoculars or an amateur telescope, Andromeda will still look like slightly elongated blurry spot. But still, it is very impressive, especially if you know that the light from it gets to us. for 2.5 million years!
By the way, the Andromeda galaxy is approaching our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have estimated that these two galaxies will collide at about in 4 billion years, and Andromeda will be visible as a bright disk in the night sky. However, it is not yet known whether those who wish to look at the sky will remain on Earth after so many years.
The night sky is full of incredible beauty objects that can be seen even with the naked eye. If you do not have special equipment to look at the sky - it does not matter, some amazing things can be seen without it.
Spectacular comets, bright planets, distant nebulae, twinkling stars and constellations can all be seen in the night sky.
The only important thing to remember is the light pollution in big cities. In the city, the light from the lanterns and windows of knowledge is so strong that all the most interesting things in the night sky are hidden, so to see these amazing things, you should go out of town.
light pollution
brightest planet
A very hot neighbor of the Earth - Venus can rightfully be proud of the title the brightest planet in the sky. The brightness of the planet is due to highly reflective clouds, as well as the fact that it is close to the Earth. Venus approximately 6 times brighter than other neighbors of the Earth - Mars and Jupiter.
Venus is brighter than any other object in the night sky, with the exception of the Moon, of course. Its maximum visible value is around 5. For comparison: the apparent magnitude of the full moon is -13 , that is, it is approximately 1600 times brighter than Venus.
In February 2012, a unique conjunction of three of the brightest objects in the night sky was observed: Venus, Jupiter and Moon which could be seen just after sunset.
The largest star
The largest star known to science - VY Canis Major, a type M red hypergiant, which is located at a distance of approximately 3800 light years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major.
Scientists have estimated that VY Canis Majoris could be more than 2100 times the size of the Sun. If it is placed in the solar system, then the edges of this monster will be located approximately in the orbit of Saturn.
The surface of a hypergiant can hardly be called noticeably outlined, since this star is approximately 1000 times less dense than our planet's atmosphere at sea level.
VY Canis Major is the source a lot of controversy in the scientific world, since the assessment of its size goes beyond the boundaries of the current stellar theory. Astronomers believe that the star VY Canis Majoris during the next 100 thousand years explode and die, turning into a "hypernova" and releasing an enormous amount of energy, and this energy will be more than any other supernova.
brightest star
In 1997, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found that the brightest known star is a star located at a distance 25 thousand light years from us. This star highlights 10 million times more energy than the sun. In size, this star is also much larger than our star. If you place it in the center of the solar system, it will take the orbit of the Earth.
Scientists have suggested that this large star, located in the region of the constellation Sagittarius, creates a cloud of gas around it, which is called Nebula "Pistol". Thanks to this nebula, the star also received the name Pistol Star.
Unfortunately, this amazing star is not visible from Earth due to the fact that it is hidden by the dust clouds of the Milky Way. The brightest star in the night sky can you name a star? Sirius located in the constellation Canis Major. The magnitude of Sirius is -1,44.
You can observe Sirius from anywhere on Earth, except for the northern regions. The brightness of a star is explained not only by its high luminosity, but at a relatively close distance. Sirius is located approximately at 8.6 light years from the solar system.
The most beautiful star in the sky
Many stars are known for their brilliance of different colors, for example, a system consisting of blue and orange stars. Albireo, or bright red giant star Antares. However, the most beautiful of all the stars visible to the naked eye can be called a red-orange star. Mu Cephei, which is also called "Herschel's garnet star" after its first explorer, the British astronomer William Herschel.
The red giant Mu Cephei is located in the constellation Cepheus. This is pulsating variable star and its maximum brightness changes 3.7 to 5.0. The color of the star also changes. Most of the time, Mu Cephei is a rich orange-red, but sometimes it takes on a strange purple hue.
Although Mu Cephei is a little dim, its reddish tint can be seen even with the naked eye, and if you take a simple binoculars, the spectacle will be more impressive.
The most distant space object
The farthest object visible to the naked eye is andromeda galaxy, which includes about 400 billion stars and which was noticed back in the 10th century by the ancient Persian astronomer Al Sufi. He described this object as "a small cloud".
Even if armed with binoculars or an amateur telescope, Andromeda will still look like slightly elongated blurry spot. But still, it is very impressive, especially if you know that the light from it gets to us. for 2.5 million years!
By the way, the Andromeda galaxy is approaching our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have estimated that these two galaxies will collide at about in 4 billion years, and Andromeda will be visible as a bright disk in the night sky. However, it is not yet known whether those who wish to look at the sky will remain on Earth after so many years.
Source: www.space.com
Traveling around the world. Seychelles.
The Republic of Seychelles is a small island nation in East Africa. Seychelles sos...
For thousands of years, people have peered into the starry sky. Whether it was the creation of legends and myths, observing the change of seasons, or navigating the expanses of the oceans, the celestial sphere has been one of the most important helpers of mankind throughout its history.
In this compilation, we take a look at 25 of the brightest space objects that you can see (depending on the light pollution in your area) just by looking up at the sky.
The objects in this list are sorted by their degree of brightness to the average observer from Earth, a unit of measurement known as apparent magnitude.
Carina Nebula
We'll start our compilation of "The 25 Brightest Space Objects Visible to the Naked Eye" with the only nebula on this list: the Carina Nebula.
The Carina Nebula is an interstellar collection of cosmic dust and ionized gas. It is especially notable for the fact that it contains the brightest star in the Milky Way - WR25.
Although this star is as bright as 6,300,000 of our Suns, it did not make it into the Top 25 presented because of its distance from us - almost seven and a half thousand light years. For comparison, the Sun is separated from the Earth by a distance of only 0.000016 light years.
Spica Star
In the night sky, we can see other galaxies and nebulae - such as our own Milky Way, the Orion Nebulae, the Pleiades, and the Andromeda Galaxy - but, in terms of apparent magnitude, they are paler than the other celestial bodies on our list.
Therefore, the second place is occupied by the star Spica - the alpha of the constellation Virgo. Technically, Spica is two stars so close that together they form one star in the shape of an egg.
Antares
The next chosen one is six hundred light years away from Earth and is known as the "Heart of Scorpio", as it is the brightest star in this constellation.
Antares is best observed around May 31, when it is directly opposite the Sun, appearing at dusk and disappearing at dawn.
Aldebaran
The star Aldebaran (not to be confused with Alderaan, the home planet of Princess Leia from Star Wars) is the alpha of the constellation Taurus. Aldebaran means "follower" in Arabic.
Aldebaran is easy to spot in the night sky - just find Orion's Belt and count three stars clockwise (or vice versa if you're in the Southern Hemisphere) to the next brightest star.
Humanity will learn more about Aldebaran when the Pioneer 10 probe passes by this star in two million years. Oh yeah. Let's not wait.
Alpha Southern Cross (Acrux)
The Southern Cross is one of the most recognizable figures in the night sky, also known as the constellation Crux. Its brightest star, its alpha - Akruks - was placed on their flags by five states: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, New Zealand and Brazil.
In fact, Akrux is not a single star, but a star system of three components. Judging by the mass and brightness, two of its stars will soon turn into supernovae.
To find Akrux, look to the "bottom" of the Southern Cross.
Altair
The star Altair is the second brightest peak of the Great Summer Triangle. Of the vertices of the Summer Triangle, Altair is also the closest star to the Earth and the alpha of the constellation Aquila.
The neighboring peak of the Triangle - the star Deneb, alpha Lyra - seems to us paler than Altair, but only because it is 214 times farther from us. In terms of absolute magnitude, Deneb is seven thousand times brighter than Altair.
Beta Centauri (Agena, Hadar)
The triple star system Beta of the constellation Centaurus has historically been one of the most important and brightest objects in the night sky.
Before the invention of the compass, navigators determined the location of the south, connecting Beta Centauri and Acrux with an imaginary line - the reference points of the Southern Cross - an analogue of the Polar Star in the other hemisphere. Both the Southern Cross and the Polar Star have played the role of the main and reliable landmark in navigation since ancient times.
Betelgeuse
The star Betelgeuse is so huge that if placed in the place of our Sun, it will swallow the Earth with Venus and Mercury, and even Mars. This massive supergiant stands out among the objects on our list as the most variable apparent magnitude. In addition, it can be observed almost everywhere from autumn to spring.
And Betelgeuse is also a chance for us earthlings to see a supernova explosion for the first time since 1054.
Finding Betelgeuse in the sky is easy. Look at the bright red star perpendicular to Orion's Belt.
Achernar
Achernar is the bluest and hottest celestial body that we can observe with the naked eye.
Interestingly, due to the peculiarities of the orbital trajectory, Achernar escaped the attention of most of our predecessors, and even from the ancient Egyptian astronomers.
And the extremely high rotation speed gives Achernar the least spherical shape among the bodies of the Milky Way.
Procyon
Procyon is the second brightest star in the Great Winter Triangle. In the sky, it looks reddish, especially at the end of winter.
Procyon appears in the cultures of many peoples, from the ancient Babylonians and Hawaiians to the Brazilian ethnic group Kalapalo.
The Eskimos call Procyon Sikuliarsiujuittuq - after the fat man from the legend who stole from his relatives because he was too heavy to hunt on the ice. Other hunters convinced him to go to the newly formed ice, and the fat man drowned. The Eskimos associated the color of his blood with Procyon.
Star Rigel
Rigel is the brightest star in the zodiac constellation Orion. It is located opposite Orion's Belt diagonally from Betelgeuse.
Rigel is the farthest star from Earth in this collection, we are separated by 863 light years. Rigel is also notable for its variable apparent magnitude, which is caused by its pulsations - the result of thermonuclear reactions of hydrogen fusion.
Chapel
Capella means "little goat" in Latin. It sounds incomprehensible to modern people, but the Greeks, and after them the Romans, revered this star very much, because they associated it with the goat that nursed the god Zeus.
Capella has an apparent magnitude of 0.07 and is the third brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere. Inhabitants of latitudes north of 44 ° N can see the Chapel both day and night.
Vega
Vega is one of the most important stars in the sky, some even consider it the second most important after the Sun.
Located just 25 light-years from Earth, Vega was our North Star 14,000 years ago. And it will regain that status around 13727, when changes in its orbit will once again make it brighter than the current Polaris.
Vega is also known as the first star after the Sun to be captured on film.
Arcturus
The star Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere.
Probably, it was this orange giant that helped the Polynesians so successfully cross the Pacific Ocean.
To find Arcturus in the night sky, follow the handle of the Big Dipper to the first bright star.
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is a binary star system with Beta Centauri.
In absolute magnitude, it is not much brighter than our Sun and is closest to the Solar System (only 4.37 light years).
In addition, it is one of the reference points of the Southern Cross, which helped Magellan and other navigators plot a course across the ocean in the Southern Hemisphere.
Many astronomers believe that there is a planet in the orbit of this star system, and not even one.
Star Canopus
Canopus is the second brightest star in the night sky, and in the time of the dinosaurs, it would have led the list of the brightest stars by apparent magnitude.
While another star now takes precedence, whose name is immortalized in the name of Harry Potter's godfather, Canopus will return to the top of the list in about 480,000 years, when it will once again become the brightest star in the night sky.
Canopus appears white to the naked eye, but takes on a yellowish tint when viewed through a telescope.
Sirius
The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, also called the "Dog Star", because it is part of that part of the constellation, which is called the "dog of Orion".
The phrase "the days of the dog are over" (as, for example, in the song of the same name by Florence + The Machine) comes from Sirius.
According to the location of Sirius in the sky, the ancient Greeks determined when the “days of the dog” began - the hottest period of the summer season.
Saturn
The first and palest of the planets of the solar system visible to the naked eye is Saturn. At the same time, Saturn is one of the most exciting cosmic bodies to observe through a telescope.
Even small telescopes (with a minimum magnification of 30x) can make out Saturn's famous rings - mostly made up of ice and rock fragments.
And the largest moon of Saturn - Titan - can be seen even with strong binoculars.
Mercury
Since Mercury revolves around the Sun within the Earth's orbit, it is visible from the surface of our planet only in the mornings and evenings, and never in the middle of the night.
Like our Moon, Mercury has a series of phases that can be observed with a telescope.
Mars
Mars has been the focus of professional and amateur astronomers for millennia. Easily visible in the night sky due to its characteristic hue, the Red Planet has an apparent magnitude of -2.91. Best of all, Mars was visible from July to September 2003, especially in August, when Mars was brighter for earthlings than in the previous 60 thousand years.
Jupiter
The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter is an easy target to find and observe with the naked eye.
And with a simple telescope, you can make out the famous cloud belts that envelop the surface of Jupiter, and maybe even its four largest moons.
If you choose the right time and a strong telescope, you will be able to admire the Great Red Spot of Jupiter.
Venus
The brightest planet that we can see with the naked eye, Venus has played an important role in human culture for thousands of years.
Sung by poets as the morning and evening star, Venus appears after sunset, overtaking the Earth in its annual rotation cycle, and before dawn, passing by the Earth.
Venus is so bright that it can be seen even at noon.
International Space Station
The only man-made object on our list, the International Space Station, circles the Earth 15 times a day, creating many opportunities for observation, although it is sometimes confused with a fast-moving aircraft.
Moon
Our beloved Moon is the most recognizable and largest object in the night sky visible to the naked eye. Sometimes visible in daylight, the Moon always shows us only one side of itself, since it rotates synchronously with the Earth.
During his tenure, George W. Bush proposed a project to create a lunar base by 2024, but since then NASA's focus has shifted to sending a man into orbit around Mars in 2035.
The sun
Is it any wonder that the life-giving star leads the list of the brightest space objects.
But, although you can look at the sun with your naked eye, try to avoid it: maybe a few seconds of direct observation will not blind you, but a few hours will certainly do it.
The star charts have been revealed. The most notable stars of the night sky acquired their names and stories, experienced astrologers tested their knowledge, and readers far from astrophysics discovered a new unknown world full of shining cosmic stars.
Parallel and pocket universes have their own star charts, but in this one the laws of quantum mechanics apply - observers change the observed - and each of our glance upwards changes something - invisibly and irreversibly.
Details Oleg Nekhaev
Zvezdnoe
The sky that you see on this map (below) represents the real position of the planets, bright stars and constellations at the moment. It is enough to make adjustments to the program settings and you will see everything on the screen, based on your location. How to set up the "starry sky"? How to see the most interesting in space?
At the top left of the map there are two lines: date and time, below - coordinates. The first line automatically displays the time you opened this page. Want to see what the sky will look like later? Enter the year, month, day, and time to see how the stars in the sky are positioned at the right time. Depending on the geographical point, there will be a different position of the luminaries and planets. To set the desired coordinates, click on the second line. Enter the latitude and longitude if you know them, or find them in the column below using the navigator. Write the name of the city (preferably in Latin), click search (Search). If he is successful. Close the panel. If the "select" box appears, click on this column and select the one you are looking for from the options. Close the window and check the new values.
To find out the coordinates, you can contact through the Yandex-map search. Enter the name of the area (settlement) and click "search". The coordinates of the place will appear on the right. Write them down. For most locations, Wikipedia can help as well. Enter the name of the city in the search and in the right column you will see the necessary numbers. Attention! Enter data without degrees and minutes symbols. After an integer, put a dot and add the rest of the numbers without separation. Write down the latitude first. By default, the coordinates of the center of Moscow are set.
A star chart is very convenient not only for preparing views through a telescope, but also for ordinary observations of space objects, without the use of technical means. You will always know: which planets shine in the sky or how they call the conspicuous star that you saw today, and what is the name of the constellation that appeared in the sky. You will be able to observe the passage of low-orbit satellites of the Iridium system. And they are very important to look at a certain point. Surprisingly bright flashes periodically emanate from these devices. Reminiscent of the fall of noticeable meteorites. The brightness of this phenomenon is such that it is second only to the Sun and the Moon. Or you can predict the flight path of the International Space Station in advance. And you will wait for its appearance in a certain place in the starry sky. Live broadcast from the station is conducted on Sibirik. And you can calculate the exact time of the apparent passage of the ISS in your place on our page using this LINK
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Small explanations. The starry sky in the diagram appears to us as if it is above our head. For real perception of it, you need to make a mental flip of the image. The cardinal points indicated in the diagram will help the correct representation. On the map you see them along the edges of the circle. You need to bring them to reality. Find out where North is at your location using a compass or other means, such as GPS-Glonass navigation in apps on your smartphone or tablet. And then mentally place a map of the starry sky according to them, based on the revealed data, or rotate the configured map using the cursor.
Notation. Lilac color The names of the constellations are marked on the map. White are the names of the brightest stars. Turquoise the contour shows the boundaries of the Milky Way. Arc Red reflects the ecliptic - the trajectory (projection) of the Sun's movement. The same path is followed by the planets of our star system. They are displayed orange color. light green radiant points of meteor showers are shown. During periods of their activity, on some of the days, you can see "star rain" coming from this area. May you be lucky.
Do not forget that in the northern hemisphere, where the vast majority of visitors to our site are located, the most significant, coordinate star is Polaris. It is easy to find in the sky if you take the famous constellation to help. Ursa Major(Ursa Major), or rather her Big Bucket. On the map, her second star in the pen is highlighted - Mizar (Mizar). So, if you draw a line up through the last two stars of the bucket, then after five the same distances as between these stars, you will find Polaris. She is the only one that is in one place, and all the others, as it were, revolve around her. She points to the North. Therefore, it has always been called the guiding one.
Other visible bright stars are not difficult to deal with. Some of the most notable...
Deneb is one of the largest and is the most powerful star of all the 25 brightest stars in the sky known to science. In one day, Deneb emits more light than our Sun in 140 years. A very distant star.
Sirius- according to perception - the brightest star for us. Because it is located much closer to us than other luminaries, with the exception, of course, of the Sun. Actually it is double. And it has a lot of mobility. In about 11,000 years, Sirius will no longer be visible to those who live in Europe.
Arcturus. Orange giant. One of the brightest stars. All year round it can be seen from the territory of Russia. Arcturus was the first star to be seen through a telescope during the day. It happened over three hundred years ago.
Vega. A young, rapidly rotating star. The best studied (if you do not take into account the Sun). The first one that I managed to photograph well. Apart from Antarctica, it can be seen from almost anywhere in the world. Vega is one of the favorite "heroines" of science fiction writers.
Altair- a star close enough to us. It is located just 159 trillion kilometers away. Compare: the mentioned Deneb is almost a hundred times farther from us.
Rigel- a blue-white supergiant. More than seventy times the size of the Sun. So far away from us that the light we now see was emitted by a star 860 light years ago. Compare: the light from the moon reaches us in one second at a distance of about 400 thousand kilometers. Rigel is a star of incredible power in its luminosity and monstrously distant. And there, someone or something perceives it as the sun. But, from there it is impossible even with the most powerful telescope to consider our Sun, not to mention the Earth on which we live ...
Pay attention! 1. Carefully read the instructions for displaying the sky map. Many ask questions about the location of stars and planets, which they themselves can get answers by entering the appropriate data into the map settings. 2. There are visible "parades of planets" and invisible ones (without the use of binoculars and telescopes). The latter occur quite often. The nearest visible parade of five planets from the territory of Russia will occur only in 2022. Don't believe the frequent reports about the "end of the world" and how the position of the planets can affect the rotation of the Earth.
Clear skies and good luck with your observations!
Planets of the solar system. VENUS.
Heavenly neighbor.
The most beautiful and closest of the planets - Venus - has been riveting a person's gaze to itself for millennia. How many brilliant poems Venus has produced! No wonder she bears the name of the goddess of love. But no matter how much scientists study our nearest neighbor in the solar system, the number of questions that are just waiting for their Columbus does not decrease. The planet is full of mysteries and wonders. The semi-major axis of the orbit of Venus - the average distance from the Sun - is 0.723 AU. (108.2 million km). The orbit is almost circular, its eccentricity is 0.0068 - the smallest in the solar system. Orbital inclination to the plane of the ecliptic: i \u003d 3 ° 39 ". Venus is the closest planet to Earth - the distance to it varies from 40 to 259 million kilometers. The average orbital speed is 35 km / s. The orbital period is 224.7 Earth days, and the period of rotation around the axis is 243.02 Earth days.In this case, Venus rotates in the direction opposite to its orbital movement (when viewed from the north pole of Venus, the planet rotates clockwise, and not counterclockwise, like the Earth and the rest planets except Uranus; inclination of equator to orbit: 177°18"). This leads to the fact that a day on Venus lasts 116.8 Earth days (half a Venusian year). Thus, day and night on Venus last for 58.4 Earth days. The mass of Venus is 0.815M of the mass of the Earth (4.87.10 24 kg). The planet has no satellites, so the mass of Venus was refined from the flybys of the planet by the American spacecraft Mariner-2, Mariner-5 and Mariner-10. The density of our neighbor is 5.24 g/cm 3 . The radius of Venus - 0.949 R (6052 km) - was measured in the sixties by radar methods: the surface of the planet is constantly covered with dense clouds. Venus is almost spherical. The free fall acceleration on the surface is 8.87 m/s 2 .
Venus in the sky.
Venus is easily recognizable as it is far superior in brilliance to the brightest of the stars. A distinctive feature of the planet is its even white color. Venus, like Mercury, does not recede in the sky at a great distance from the Sun. At times of elongation, Venus can move away from our star by a maximum of 48 °. Like Mercury, Venus has periods of morning and evening visibility: in ancient times it was believed that morning and evening Venus were different stars. Venus is the third brightest object in our sky. During periods of visibility, its brightness is at its maximum at about m = -4.4.
Orbit of Venus.
In 1610, Galileo in the telescope he invented for the first time observed a change in the visible phase of the planet's disk. The mechanism of phase change is the same as for the Moon. People with the sharpest eyesight can sometimes make out the crescent of Venus with the naked eye. In 1761, Mikhail Lomonosov, observing the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun, noticed a thin iridescent rim that surrounded the planet. This is how the atmosphere of Venus was discovered. This atmosphere is extremely powerful: the pressure at the surface turned out to be 90 atmospheres. At the bottom of the Diana Canyon, it reaches 119 bar. The high temperature of the lower atmosphere of Venus is explained by the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect also occurs in the atmospheres of other planets. But if in the atmosphere of Mars it raises the average temperature at the surface by 9°, in the atmosphere of the Earth - by 35°, then in the atmosphere of Venus this effect reaches 400 degrees! The recorded maximum temperature on the surface is +480°C.
Venus clouds in ultraviolet rays. The contrast is greatly increased. Rice. left.
In 1932, W. Adams and T. Wilson proved that the atmosphere of Venus is 96.5% carbon dioxide. No more than 3% is accounted for by nitrogen; in addition, impurities of inert gases (first of all, argon) were found. Traces of oxygen, water, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride were found. It was assumed that due to dense clouds on the surface of Venus it is always dark. However, "Venera-8" showed that the illumination of the day side of Venus is approximately the same as on Earth on a cloudy day.The internal structure of Venus.
The sky on Venus has a bright yellow-green hue.
The foggy haze extends to a height of about 50 km. Further up to a height of 70 km there are clouds of small drops of concentrated sulfuric acid. There are also impurities of hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid. It is believed that sulfuric acid in the atmosphere of Venus is formed from sulfur dioxide, the source of which may be the volcanoes of Venus. The speed of rotation at the level of the upper boundary of the clouds is different than above the very surface of the planet. This means that over the equator of Venus, at an altitude of 60-70 km, a hurricane wind is constantly blowing at a speed of 100 m/s and even 300 m/s in the direction of the planet's motion. At high latitudes of Venus, the wind speed at high altitudes decreases, and there is a polar vortex near the poles. The uppermost layers of Venus's atmosphere are composed almost entirely of hydrogen. The hydrogen atmosphere of Venus extends to an altitude of 5500 km. The temperature of the cloud layers ranges from -70°C to -40°C. Venus has a liquid iron core, but it does not generate a magnetic field, probably due to Venus' slow rotation. AMS "Venera-15" and "Venera-16" with the help of radar found mountain peaks on Venus with clear traces of lava flows. Currently, about 150 volcanic objects have been registered, the size of which exceeds 100 km; the total number of volcanoes on the planet is estimated at 1600. Volcanic eruptions generate powerful electrical discharges. Venusian thunderstorms have been repeatedly recorded by AMS instruments. Volcanism on Venus testifies to the activity of its bowels. The convective flows of the liquid mantle are blocked by a thick basalt shell. The composition of rocks includes oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, iron, calcium and other elements.
Venus comes closer to Earth than all the other planets. However, the dense cloudy atmosphere does not allow one to see its surface directly, and all research is carried out using radar or automatic interplanetary stations. Some scientists used to think that the planet was covered by an ocean everywhere. Almost all images of Venus and its surface are made in conditional colors, since the survey was made by radio waves. With the help of radio waves, it was found that Venus rotates in the opposite direction than almost all planets.
The first two automatic stations "Venus" in the sixties could not reach the planet, leaving the trajectory. The following stations collapsed, unable to withstand the harsh conditions of the atmosphere, and only the Venera-7 descent vehicle reached the surface on December 15, 1970 and worked on it for 23 minutes, having managed to conduct a lot of research in the atmosphere, measure the temperature on the surface (about 500 ° C) and pressure (100 atmospheres). The average density of surface rocks is 2.7 g/cm 3 , which is close to the density of terrestrial basalts. The Venera-13 and Venera-14 spacecraft found out that the soil of Venus consists of 50% silica, 16% aluminum alum, and 11% magnesium oxide.
Landscape shot by "Venus-13". In the top photo, the rocks have an orange tint, because. the atmosphere does not transmit blue rays. In the bottom photo, the computer has "removed" the lighting created by the atmosphere, and the rocks are visible in their natural gray. In photographs of the surface of Venus, one can distinguish a rocky desert with characteristic rock formations. Fresh scree of stones and frozen lava flows speak of incessant tectonic activity.
A map of Venus obtained using the Magellan radar.
"Venera-15" and "Venera-16" in 1983 carried out mapping of most of the northern hemisphere using radio waves. The American "Magellan" from 1989 to 1994 produced a more detailed (with a resolution of 300 m) and almost complete mapping of the planet's surface. Thousands of ancient volcanoes spewing lava, hundreds of craters, mountains were found on it. The surface layer (bark) is very thin; weakened by heat, it gives many opportunities for lava to escape. Venus is the most active celestial body revolving around the Sun. The two Venusian continents - the Land of Ishtar and the Land of Aphrodite - are no smaller than Europe in area.
The plains of eastern Aphrodite extend for 2200 km and are below average. Lowlands, similar to oceanic depressions, occupy only one-sixth of the surface on Venus. And the Maxwell Mountains on Ishtar Land rise 11 km above the average surface level. By the way, the Maxwell mountains, as well as the regions of Alpha and Beta, are the only exception to the rule adopted by the IAU. All other regions of Venus are given female names: on the map you can find the Lada Land, the Snegurochka Plain and even the Baba Yaga Plain.
Mount Shapash is 400 km wide and 1.5 km high. Shield volcanoes like this one are common on the planet. The relief of 55 regions of Venus was studied. Among them there are sections of both strongly hilly terrain, with elevation changes of 2-3 km, and relatively flat ones. In the northern hemisphere of the planet, a huge round basin has been identified with a length of about 1500 km from north to south and 100 km from west to east. A large plain about 800 km long has been discovered, even smoother than the surface of the lunar seas. It was possible to detect a giant fault in the crust 1500 km long, 150 km wide and 2 km deep. An arc-shaped mountain range, crossed and partially destroyed by another, was revealed.
On the surface of Venus, about 10 ring structures were found, similar to the meteorite craters of the Moon and Mercury, with a diameter of 35 to 150 km, but strongly smoothed, flattened.
A network of cracks in surface rocks through which molten magma tries to break out, swelling the planet's crust.
Impact craters are a rare feature of the Venusian landscape. In the picture on the right, two craters with diameters of about 40-50 km. The inner area is filled with lava. Petals sticking outward are found only on Venus. They are heaps of crushed rock thrown out during the formation of a crater.
