Pictures of Venus | Universe Today

Written by Fraser Cain

Here are some pictures of Venus.

The first picture of Venus shows how the planet is always shrouded in clouds. Astronomers used to think that Venus might have been a hot tropical world with rain. We now know that the thick atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide, and conditions on the surface are hellish, with temperatures hot enough to melt lead.

Surface of Venus by Venera.

This is one of the few pictures ever taken of the surface of Venus. It was captured by one of the Soviet Venera probes. During the space race, the Soviet Union sent a series of spacecraft to take images of the surface of Venus. Most were destroyed as they entered the thick atmosphere, but a few successful missions did make it to the ground and returned pictures of Venus like this.

New moon with Venus. Image credit: James W. Young

Aside from the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. You can easily see Venus if it's up during the night. If you see an incredibly bright star towards the West after sunset, or to the East before sunrise, that's probably Venus. This image, captured by James W. Young shows Venus together with the new moon.

This is an artist's impression of what the surface of Venus might look like during a volcanic eruption. You can see the thick clouds and volcanic material pouring out of active vents. Science missions to Venus have identified hundreds of extinct and dormant volcanoes, so it's likely the planet still has active volcanism.

This picture of Venus is based on radar data captured by NASA's Magellan spacecraft. It used a radar that could penetrate the thick clouds surrounding Venus and reveal the planet beneath. This shows what the terrain on Venus looks like.

We have written many articles about Venus for Universe Today. Here's an article about how Venus might have had a wet past, and even continents and oceans.

If you'd like more information on Venus, as well as some great pictures of Venus, visit NASA's World Book on Venus, and the NASA/JPL Solar System Exploration Guide.

We have also recorded an entire episode of Astronomy Cast just about Venus. Listen here, Episode 50: Venus.

Filed under: Astronomy