Venus and Earth are similar in size, mass, density and volume, but here the resemblance ends. Venus is a famously hostile environment, closer to the sun than Earth by 26,000,000 miles, with a scorching hot surface, a thick, choking atmosphere of carbon dioxide and cloud cover rich in sulphuric acid. Orbiting American and Russian spacecraft equipped with radar imaging systems have revealed a land of vast plains, high peaks, impact craters, volcanoes and great lava flows. In this book Sir Patrick explains how this hostile but beautiful planet evolved, and investigates our past and present knowledge of this planet. Venus, the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, still fascinates readers looking to journey further into the mysteries of our solar system.

Table of Contents

Non-Identical Twin; Venus in the Solar System; Myth and Legend; The Movements of Venus; Venus Through the Telescope; Telescope, Spectroscope and Speculation; The Ashen Light; Neith: The Phantom Satellite; Transits and Occulations; Rockets to Venus; The Landscape of Venus; Structures and Atmosphere; Life on Venus?; En Passant; Venus in the Future.

Author Biography

Sir Patrick Moore CBE FRS, Britain's best known astronomer, has over 50 years attracted and held a vast audience through his books and television appearances. He has presented every edition of The Sky at Night since it was first broadcast in April 1957, a world record for television, and to universal acclaim won a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to television at the 2001 BAFTA Awards, presented to him by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin. He is a Fellow and Past President of the Royal Astronomical Society, was awarded the CBE in 1988 and his knighthood in 2000. An enthusiastic communicator, he has done more to popularise the study of astronomy than any other writer of his or subsequent generations.