Venus wis lang the planet o legend in Greek an Roman lare an until the 20t century we jaloused that the micht be life on thon warld. As the brichtest body in the heevens alang wi the Moon it is cryed efter the Roman goddess o beauty an love. The Latin word Venus (tae hae a sexual ettle efter) is thocht tae spring fae the auld Indo-European word *Wenes or ‘freen’ sae that ahin the word Venus is the cheil that we hae a want or liking for. In the Soothland byleid o Scots Venus is kent as Couslem whan it kythes in the wast efter sundoun.

Venus is the second planet oot fae the Sun efter Mercury an taks 222.7 Yird days for tae gang-roond oor starn. It is the maist slawly turnin planet in oor Sun Gird takkin 243 Yird days tae gae aboot its aixis aince, an like Uranus the planet Venus turns withershins aboot sae the Sun comes up in the wast an gaes doun in the east.

Aw the auld Romantic nories that humans held in lang fernyears anent Venus got blew awa wi the aff-warld progs sent thon gait, first throu Mariner 2 in 1962, an wi the landin o Venera 7 in 1970. Mariner 2, a prog flichtit oot Americae, wis the first human prog tae fly by anither warld. As it flew by it gaithert in data that shawed Venus haed a thick atmosphere an that it wis gey hot. Syne, in 1970, Venera 7 wis flichtit oot the Soviet Union. This prog won at Venus, gaed ben the atmosphere, and landit wi a dunt throu pairts o the landin geir meltin awa.  It lastit less nor an houer an sent back wittins o a leeving hell that nane o Jock Tamson’s bairns cuid ever win ower. It fund that the temperature at the surface o this warld is 887 Fahrenheit (475 Celsius).

The hail warld is happit in a thick clood o sulphurous poushion that maks the atmosphere that wechty that it wad be like gauin alang the fit o the ocean at 3,300 feet on the Yird. It is maistly made fae carbon dioxide wi cloods o sulphuric acid that reflects back aboot 75% o the licht that hits them. The’r an ongauin debate as tae whither the micht be fireflauchts amang the cloods. The actual gravity o Venus is aboot 90% o the Yird. The uppermaist atmosphere wheechs roond the warld in aboot fower days up tae 220 mile an houer, but this dywnes awa taewards the surface tae jist twa mile an houer.

Maist o whit we ‘see’ on Venus is throu radar eemages as we canna see throu the atmosphere wi ony ordnar method. It is jaloused that awa back in its early days o the Sun Gird Venus wisna unalike oor Yird an haed watter on it. But syne something gaed agley an the planet turnt intil a poushionous greenhoose that grew ever waur. Ony watter bylt awa an the atmosphere grew thicker. The kenspeckles o Venus is its volcanoes. It haes mair nor ony ither warld in oor Sun Gird. The biggest ane is cryed Maat Mons at five mile in hecht. The fact that progs haes detectit muckle antrin rises in temperature in sma spots haes been taen tae mean that lava is ejectit furth on Venus tae this day. No lang syne, in 2020, sic a steer wis detectit on the volcano Idunn Mons throu radar eemages o fiery heat risin aw a sudden.

Aiblins the maist orra fact aboot Venus is that it daesna jist gang-roond the Sun withershins, but it is upside doun. Naebody kens for shair whit wey this shuid be, but mony astrologues jalouses that lang, lang syne, Venus wis hut wi anither heevenly body that set it asklent.