Venus: 50 Years after Mariner 2
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National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Free, Tickets Required
4:00-5:00 pm Discovery Station
5:15-6:45 pm Lecture and Q&A
6:30-8:30 pm Observatory Open
Mariner 2 was the first space probe to successfully explore another planet, flying past Venus in 1962. Fifty years later, we have high-resolution topography and images from Earth-based and satellite observations, but our nearest neighbor still holds many mysteries. Find out what we know about Venus, including how it differs from Earth and how future explorers may provide crucial clues to understanding this hot, dry world.
Smithsonian's Stars lectures are suitable for ages 13 and up.
The Smithsonian's Stars Lecture Series is made possible by a grant from NASA.
The surface of Venus is perpetually covered by a veil of thick clouds and remains hidden from even the powerful telescopic eyes of earth-bound astronomers. But in the early 1990s, using imaging radar, the Venus orbiting Magellan spacecraft was able to lift the veil from the face of Venus and produced spectacular high resolution images of the planet's surface. Colors used in this computer generated picture of Magellan radar data are based on color images from the surface of Venus transmitted by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 landers. The bright area running roughly across the middle represents the largest highland region of Venus known as Aphrodite Terra.
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