Venus Archives - Keith Shields

Akatsuki Update

On April 1, JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, gave a brief update on the status of their Akatsuki spacecraft now in orbit around Venus. You might recall that this is the exploration vehicle that missed its exit on the way to Venetian orbit and, instead, ended up in orbit around the sun.[1] This orbit…

“Yesterday I missed my exit, on my way to Sears” – Joe Diffie

Have you ever had one of those days where you missed your freeway exit and had to take an alternative route? The process can be quite time consuming and often adds several minutes to the anticipated travel time. It is hard not to get frustrated. Of course, such emotions only complicate things and make the…

The Dance of the Planets

(Photo credit: Universe Today) I have continued to enjoy the movements of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. This particular conjunction of planets has now inspired my imagination for several weeks. Each morning I look to the east around five or six am to see if it is clear enough to see this amazing display. The relative…

Venus, Mars, Regulus, and Jupiter Are Alright Tonight

Starship 21ZNA9 A good friend of mine Studies the stars Venus and Mars Are alright tonight “Venus and Mars” lyrics by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney; published by MPL Communications, Inc. This morning, as I went for my before-sunrise-run, I was greeted by three planets and a bright star, in the eastern sky. The four…

Venetian Dreams

The popular press has, in recent years, written much about the planet Mars, but very little about Venus. This is to be expected since Mars is the planet of greatest focus for the major space programs of the world. Four planetary rovers have traversed various portions of the Martian surface,1 orbital spacecraft have mapped the…