The mass of Venus, its density, as well as the presence of the atmosphere are decisive in similarity with the Earth. Due to the fairly close distance to our planet, it is the third brightest object of observation in the starry sky. Therefore, Venus was known even during the emergence of human civilization.
Ancient world and Venus
Such a prominent star in the sky did not go unnoticed in various ancient cultures. There are references to Venus in ancient India. She was called Sukra, by the name of the deity lord of this planet. In ancient Egypt, she received the name of the goddess Isis. In Babylon, she was also called the star Ishtar.
All of you have heard the name Aphrodite, that is how Venus was called in ancient Greece. Historical references to it are found in the Roman Empire, it was called the planet of Lucifer. There are references in the Muslim world, under the name Ap-Lat, as well as Zuhra. As for the Slavic world, in the annals there is a mention of it under the name Dennitsy or Zarnitsa. As we can see, the history of worshiping the cult of Venus goes as far back centuries as the Moon and the Sun.
Lomonosov gave hope to the world on the “second Earth”
The first evidence of the existence of Venus as a planet was realized by Galileo Galilei in 1610. A little later, on June 6, 1761, Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that there was an atmosphere on Venus. On this day, she passed through the disk of the Sun. It was this event that astronomers of the whole world were looking forward to.
And only the Russian scientist Lomonosov drew attention to the subtle radiance around the planet as it passed through the disk of the Sun. He regarded this phenomenon as the presence of an atmosphere around Venus, on the basis that it is it that causes the refraction of light rays. The conclusion of M.V. Lomonosov was correct.
The twin planet is really very similar to the Earth in many ways. The ratio of the mass of Venus to the mass of the Earth is 0.815: 1. The diameter of the planet is 650 kilometers smaller than the earth and is 12,100 kilometers. As for gravity, it is somewhat less. One kilogram of Earth's cargo on Venus will weigh about 850 grams.
Tropics not to be on Venus
The discovery of Lomonosov, associated with the presence of a powerful atmosphere in Venus, it would seem, finally confirmed their similarity. But further research, during the space age, has denied the similarity of the atmospheric composition of the planets. The ability to not only observe it with a telescope, but also to send space probes dispelled dreams of seeing a garden of paradise on Venus. What was discovered is fundamentally different from terrestrial conditions. Our planet has a mixture of basic gases: nitrogen - 78%, oxygen - 21% and a little carbon dioxide. In the atmosphere of Venus, carbon dioxide is mainly, according to some data from space probes, the indicator is close to 96%, as well as about 3% nitrogen.
The remaining gases (water vapor, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, sulfuric acid, inert gases) account for about 1%.
Aggressive and unyielding
In the process of studying the atmosphere of Venus, data on its composition and density were constantly updated. This is primarily due to difficulties in the learning process. The atmosphere of the planet is quite cloudy and is not visually visible. The temperature of the heated air reaches about +475 degrees Celsius, and atmospheric pressure exceeds 92 times the Earth pressure. The density is so high that if you drop a copper coin, it will fall like an object thrown into water. The total mass of the atmosphere of Venus is 93 times higher than the Earth's and is 4.8 · 10 20 kilograms.
The greenhouse effect has changed everything
The high temperature on Venus was a big surprise for scientists. She is the hottest planet in our solar system, despite receiving 4 times less heat than Mercury. Only as a result of careful research, it became clear that a large level of carbon dioxide and water vapor caused the greenhouse effect.
Due to the high temperature and the slow period of revolution around its own axis, an increased air circulation is observed in the planet’s atmosphere, the wind speed reaches about 370 kilometers per hour. But somewhere at an altitude of 50 kilometers, the wind speed gradually decreases, and directly on the surface is no more than 4 kilometers per hour.
The mass of Venus and the features of its evolution
Today, the most important and yet unresolved problem is understanding the evolution of Venus in the past, as a result of which its distinctive features, a powerful carbonic atmosphere with an admixture of nitrogen and inert gases, and a fairly high water deficit have developed.
Venus is a planet, the mass and composition of which characterize it as the cosmic body of the solar system of the terrestrial subgroup. It also includes Mercury and Mars. But they have not so similar characteristics with the Earth, as Venus. No wonder she is considered the "sister" of our planet. For example, the average density of the Earth and Venus is almost identical and amounts to 5.24 grams per cubic centimeter. In addition, the total mass of Venus is 4.8685 · 10 24 kilograms, which is approximately 0.815 of the mass of the Earth. As you can see, in comparison with our planet, its “sister” has almost a similar mass.
Research will continue soon
For more than two decades, no attempts have been made to explore the surface of Venus. The reasons are quite obvious, its environment is considered the most aggressive among all the planets of our solar system. Lead, tin and zinc on its surface are in a liquid state. As for pressure, it can be compared with that which is present at a depth of one kilometer under water on Earth. Under such harsh conditions, the equipment sent simply does not stand up. In 1982, the Venus-13 descent vehicle sent to Venus lasted only 127 minutes, after which it failed.
The main problem is that many materials at a temperature of about +475 degrees Celsius begin to change their characteristics. One of them is silicon, it is part of the boards and microcircuits. At this temperature, it increases electrical conductivity, which renders the equipment unusable.
Scientists will have to work hard to protect and cool the equipment. Despite the fact that the mass of Venus is only 0.18% of the total
mass of the planets of the solar system, it remains a unique and interesting object for research.
How much will one gram of soil cost from Venus?
The next point in the study of Venus, today difficult to implement, is the collection of the planet’s soil and its delivery to Earth. For this, as you understand, the spacecraft must leave the planet. And then, when you determine the first cosmic velocity for Venus, whose mass is close to Earth, you will understand the level of all complexity. The fact is that together with the device it is necessary to deliver fuel so that it can leave the planet and deliver valuable cargo. To calculate the first cosmic velocity, you need to find what the mass and radius of Venus are. Using these data, after the calculations, we get: the speed of the device in order for it to enter its orbit should be 7.32 km / s.
As scientific and technological progress shows, until some time launching a satellite into space, flying to the moon, landing space modules on the surface of other planets, the Voyager-2 spacecraft that left the solar system were considered impossible. Perhaps in the near future, technologies will not only allow us to explore the planets of our system, but also fly to distant star systems. Let's hope that this will become the reality of our descendants.