Astronomy 2232F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Lunar Mare, Axial Tilt, Mariner 2

• School: Western University
• Department: Astronomy
• Course: Astronomy 2232F/G
• Professor: Gordon Osinski

Document Summary

Earths twin: 95% of diameter, 80% of mass. Most intense greenhouse effects in solar system. Pressure = 90 bars: thick atmosphere, 1 bar = atmospheric pressure on earth. Named after the goddess of love and beauty. Shone brightest of the 5 planets known to the ancients. Second brightest object in the night sky next to the moon. First successful mission to another planet besides earth- first to study venus. Goals: fly by/gather info on atmosphere and surface: gathered relatively little data. First to land and transmit photos from the surface of another planet. Produced historic images of the surface of venus in early 1960s. Probes survived < 2hrs on surface- due to intense pressure/temperatures. Goals: make quality radar maps of surface. Radar is not like visible light- can penetrate though clouds and get images of surface because of its longer wavelength. Distance from sun: 1. 082 x 108 km (0. 723 au) Radius, mass, surface gravity similar to earth.