Venus Introduction Venus Introduction Advance in science comes by laying brick upon brick, not by sudden erection of fairy palaces. Magellan Image Browser Venus, the jewel of the sky , was once know by ancient astronomers as the morning star and evening star . Early astronomers once thought Venus to be two separate bodies. Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is veiled by thick swirling cloud cover.
Astronomers refer to Venus as Earth's sister planet.
Both are similar in size, mass, density and volume. Both formed about the same time and condensed out of the same nebula . However, during the last few years scientists have found that the kinship ends here. Venus is very different from the Earth. It has no oceans and is surrounded by a heavy atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide with virtually no water vapor.