Venus

:This article is about the planet. For the Roman mythological figure, see Venus (mythology); for other meanings, see Venus (disambiguation).

Related Topics:
Venus (mythology) - Venus (disambiguation)

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Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is named after the Roman goddess Venus. A terrestrial planet, it is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet", as the two are very similar in size and bulk composition. Although all planets' orbits are elliptical, Venus's orbit is the closest to circular, with an eccentricity of less than 1%.

Related Topics:
Planet - Sun - Roman goddess - Venus - Terrestrial planet - Earth - Orbits - Elliptical - Circular - Eccentricity

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Because Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, it always appears in roughly the same direction from Earth as the Sun (the greatest elongation is 47.8°), so on Earth it can usually only be seen a few hours before sunrise or a few hours after sunset. However, when at its brightest, Venus may be seen during the daytime, making it one of only two heavenly bodies that can be seen both day and night (the other being the Moon). It is sometimes referred to as the "Morning Star" or the "Evening Star", and when it is visible in dark skies it is by far the brightest star-like object in the sky.

Related Topics:
Elongation - Moon - Morning Star - Evening Star - Star

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The cycle between one maximum elongation and the next lasts 584 days. After these 584 days Venus is visible in a position 72 degrees away from the previous one. Since 5 * 584 = 2920, which is equivalent to 8 * 365 Venus returns to the same point in the sky every 8 years (minus two leap days). This was known as the Sothis cycle in ancient Egypt. Another association is with the Moon, because 2920 days equal almost exactly 99 lunations (29.5 * 99 = 2920.5)

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Venus was known to ancient Babylonians around 1600 BC, and to the Mayan civilization (the Mayans developed a religious calendar based on Venus's motion) and must have been known long before in prehistoric times, given that it is the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. The Maasai people in Africa named the planet Kileken, and have a myth about it called "The Orphan Boy." Venus was called Lucifer by St. Jerome, and is considered an evil angel "cast out of heaven" by several Christian denominations.

Related Topics:
Babylon - 1600 BC - Maya - Moon - Maasai - Kileken - Lucifer - St. Jerome - Christian

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Its symbol is the sign also used in biology for the female sex, a stylized representation of the goddess Venus's hand mirror: a circle with a small cross underneath (Unicode: ♀). The Venus symbol also represents feminity, and in ancient alchemy stood for copper. Alchemists constructed the symbol from a circle (representing spirit) above a cross (representing matter).

Related Topics:
Unicode - Feminity - Copper - Spirit - Matter

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The association with sex and femininity is supposed to relate to the period of 266 days between the conjunction and maximum elongation of Venus, which corresponds more or less to the length of human pregnancy.

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The adjective Venusian is commonly used for Venus, but it is etymologically incorrect. The true adjective coming from Latin, ', is avoided because of its modern association with sexually transmitted diseases. Some astronomers use Cytherean, which comes from Cythera. Other less common adjectives include Venerean, Venerian, and Veneran. The Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures refer to the planet as the Metal Star, based on the Five Elements.

Related Topics:
Latin - Sexually transmitted disease - Cytherean - Cythera - Chinese - Korean - Japan - Five Elements

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