Venus can come closer to us than any other planet and is similar in size to Earth. Despite being our close neighbor, it is still very mysterious. It is covered in a thick layer of clouds that prevents us from seeing its surface.

Its extremely thick carbon-dioxide atmosphere creates a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus the hottest planet, with surface temperatures around 900 degrees. It is about two-thirds of an Astronomical Unit from the Sun and can come within about 25 million miles of Earth. Venus has no moons.

Magellan mapped the surface of Venus using radar, since the planet’s thick clouds hide the ground from normal view. It provided a much better look at Venus’s mountains, volcanoes, and impact craters.

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