Venus – Facts and Information about the Planet Venus

Earth's moon is thought to have formed when a Mars-sized object, called Theia, slammed into the proto-Earth more than 4.4 billion years ago, blasting out material that later coalesced into a large satellite as depicted in this artist's illustration.

Ancient impact that formed Earth's moon was likely a one-two punch

By Mike Wall

The gigantic impact that created the moon was actually a one-two punch, a new study suggests.

Venera timeline: The Soviet Union's Venus missions in pictures

By Robert Z. Pearlman

Of the 30 space missions to successfully fly by or orbit Venus to date, more than one-third were part of the former Soviet Union's Venera series of robotic probes.

See the crescent moon form a triangle with Venus and the bright star Spica in the evening sky on Sept. 9, 2021.

See the moon form a triangle with Venus and Spica tonight

By Joe Rao

Thursday evening (Sept. 9) will bring a lovely celestial display involving the two brightest objects in the nighttime sky.

Mercury and Venus will appear low in the western sky 30 minutes after sunset on Sept. 5, 2021 during September's new moon. The bright star Spica will be visible below and to the left of Venus.

How to see Venus shine with bright star Spica tonight and maybe spot Mercury, too

By Tariq Malik

Venus and the bright star Spica will shine in the evening sky tonight (Sept. 5). Mercury is visible, too.

september 2021 Night sky Young Moon between Venus and Vesta

The brightest planets in September's night sky: How to see them (and when)

By Joe Rao

Here's how to see planets visible in September's night sky.

An image of Venus taken by the infrared camera on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency spacecraft Akatsuki on Sept. 5, 2016.

Scientists puzzling out secrets of Venus' 30-year-old 'Giant Dark Cloud'

By Meghan Bartels

There are many strange things happening on Venus. Among them is a recognizable weather pattern that scientists now realize has persisted in the atmosphere for at least 30 years.

Titan's northernmost giant lake, Ligeia Mare, contains enough vinyl cyanide to form the cell membranes of ten million cells per cubic centimeter.

The five most impressive geological structures in the solar system

By David Rothery

When we talk about amazing geological features, we often limit ourselves to those on Earth.

An artist's depiction of a meteor shower on Venus.

Venus and a newly discovered comet will cross paths in December. Will sparks fly?

By Meghan Bartels

Venus is Earth's twisted twin in so many ways, what about on the skywatching front?

The European/Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo has taken a selfie with Venus during its close flyby at the planet in August 2021.

BepiColombo spacecraft records the sound of solar wind at Venus

By Tereza Pultarova

The Mercury-bound BepiColombo spacecraft recorded the sound of the solar wind at Venus as it flew just 340 miles above the planet during a maneuver designed to adjust its path.

Venus’ atmosphere traps heat from the Sun as an extreme version of the greenhouse effect that warms Earth. The temperature on Venus are hot enough to melt lead.

Venus: The hot, hellish & volcanic planet

By Charles Q. Choi, Chelsea Gohd

Venus is the brightest planet in our solar system, has a hellish atmosphere and is covered in volcanoes. Learn more about Venus here.

The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter took this video of the glowing crescent of Venus as it passed the planet at a distance of about 5,000 miles during a gravity-assist flyby in August 2021.

Solar Orbiter spacecraft sends postcard from Venus in flyby video

By Tereza Pultarova

Sun-exploring spacecraft Solar Orbiter has captured this video of a glowing crescent of Venus as it flew past the planet during a gravity-assist flyby on Monday (Aug 9).

Watch the BepiColombo probe zoom by Venus on its way to Mercury in this new video

By Tereza Pultarova

The European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft headed to Mercury can be seen flying low above the atmosphere of Venus in a new video released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Thursday (Aug. 12).

Mercury-bound spacecraft snaps selfie with Venus in close flyby (photo)

By Tereza Pultarova

Mercury-bound spacecraft BepiColombo has zoomed past Venus at a distance of only 340 miles, taking a bunch of selfies and a lot of scientific measurements of the planet’s atmosphere.

An artist impression of Solar Orbiter during its second flyby of Venus, scheduled to take place Aug. 10, 2021.

All eyes on Venus: 2 spacecraft gear up for close Venus flybys this week

By Kasandra Brabaw

BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter will fly by Venus on Monday (Aug. 9) and Tuesday (Aug. 10), respectively.

In a new study, researchers have revealed the nighttime weather on Venus for the first time.

Nighttime weather on Venus revealed for the 1st time

By Chelsea Gohd

What's the weather like at night on Venus? Scientists are finally finding out.

A computer-generated image of the mountain Mons Maat as seen from Venus' surface.

Strange chemical on Venus may come from volcanoes, not life

By Charles Q. Choi

A mysterious whiff of an unstable chemical in the skies of Venus may not be a sign of life but the result of explosive volcanic eruptions, a new study finds.

On Monday (July 12), the waxing crescent moon will pass about 3 degrees to the north of Venus.

Venus and the moon pass a fading Mars in the evening sky this weekend

By Joe Rao

Catch the trio above the western horizon about 45 minutes after sunset.

There is not enough water in the clouds of Venus to support life.

No hope for life in Venus clouds, but maybe on Jupiter, study suggests

By Tereza Pultarova

Life in the clouds of Venus is impossible due to the extremely low amount of water despite last year's findings suggesting the presence of organic material.

Scientists just detected an earthquake from a balloon and might be able to do it on Venus, too

By Meghan Bartels

Researchers have detected an earthquake using instruments flying in a balloon above California, and the technology could one day detect quakes on Venus.

This image shows a 684-mile-wide (1,100 kilometers) false-color radar view of a lowland region on Venus called Lavinia Planitia. The colors show where Venus' crust, or lithosphere, is divided into structures a bit like Earth's tectonic plates. The purple regions are the blocks, and their divisions are colored in yellow.

Venus has a gooey flowing mantle jostling crust chunks on its surface

By Doris Elin Urrutia

Venus may still be geologically active today, which could mean that Earth's planetary sibling is a good place for scientists to learn about early Earth and faraway worlds.