Home > Ephemeris Program, Venus > 06/06/2023 – Ephemeris – Venus: sister planet or evil twin?

06/06/2023 – Ephemeris – Venus: sister planet or evil twin?

June 6, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 26 minutes, setting at 9:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:39 tomorrow morning.

Venus has been called Earth’s sister planet, because it is nearly the same size as the Earth, only 5% smaller. It has also been called Earth’s evil twin. That was suspected as far back as 1962 when NASA’s Mariner 2 spacecraft flew past the planet and observed the planet in the infrared and microwaves. It found that though the cloud tops were relatively cool, the surface was extremely hot, averaging 867 ° Fahrenheit (464° Celsius). Venus cloud tops are featureless visually, but do show variation in the infrared and ultraviolet. Radar observations from Arecibo, and spacecraft have penetrated the clouds, showing a bleak landscape of volcanoes and lava flows. After many tries the Soviet Union successfully landed probes on it.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Venus' clouds
The clouds of Venus in ultraviolet light as seen by Pioneer Venus in 1979. Venus’ clouds provide a blank face in visible light. Credit: NASA.
Venus cloud animation.
An animation of the clouds rotating on Venus’ night side. Credit ISAS
Venus Map
Radar map of Venus produced by the radar altimeter of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, 1978-1992. Note Maxwell Montes at the top. Click or tap on image to enlarge it. Credit: NASA.
Venus' surface
A map of Venus surface produced by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft using radar: 1990-1994.Click or tap on image to enlarge it. Credit NASA.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Venus