History
Venus was formed 4.6 billion years ago along with the Sun and the solar system. Large amounts of dust and gases accumulated over many years to form the planet. Venus is thought to be the result of a large collision. This is due to the fact that Venus rotates differently than the other planets in our solar system. Venus is commonly referred to as Earth's "sister planet" because of their similarity in size as well as a similar gravitational force. Although Venus and Earth share some similarities, it has shown to be very different from Earth in many other aspects. It has the most dense atmosphere out of the four terrestrial planets. Venus consists of more than 96% carbon dioxide.
Surface
Geography: The surface shows evidence of extreme volcanism, and the sulfur in the atmosphere may mean that there have been some recent eruptions. Venus is covered by a thick atmosphere, creating a blazing environment with temperatures reaching high enough to melt lead.
Geology: Much of Venus's surface appears to have been shaped by volcanic activity. Venus is home to about 167 large volcanoes. Some stretching over 100 km long. Venusian surface is estimated to be 300–600 million years old. Almost 2x longer than Earth's.

Internal Structure The similarity in size and density between Venus and Earth may mean that they share a similar internal structure: a core, mantle, and crust. Like Earth, the Venus's core is at least partially liquid because the two planets have been cooling at about the same rate. The slightly smaller size of Venus may mean that its interior pressure is less than Earth's.
Atmosphere
Structure: Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere, which is mostly made up of CO2 and a small amount of nitrogen. This makes the Venus's surface much hotter than Mercury's, which has a minimum surface temperature of −220 °C and maximum surface temperature of 420 °C. Venus is nearly twice the distance from the sun than Mercury, as a result receiving only 25% of Mercury's solar radiance. The surface of Venus is often described as volcanic. This temperature is higher than temperatures used to achieve sterilization.
Features: The weak magnetosphere around Venus means the solar wind is interacting directly with the outer atmosphere of the planet. Solar wind supplies energy that gives ions enough velocity to escape the planet's Venus's gravitional field. These processes result in a consistent loss of hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions. While molecules such as CO2 are more likely to be retained.

Orbit and Rotation
Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 67,000,000 miles per hour, and completes an orbit every 224.65 days. Although every other planet orbits elliptically, Venus's orbit is more of a circular movement. The rotation period of Venus may represent an equilibrium state between tidal locking to the Sun's gravitation and an atmospheric tide created by solar heating of the thick Venusian atmosphere.

Exploration
The first robotic space probe mission to Venus, and the first to any planet, began on February 12th, 1961, with the launch of the Venera 1 probe. Venera 1 was launched on a direct path to Venus but contact was lost a week into the mission. It was estimated to have traveled 100,000 km of Venus by mid-May.

Observation
Venus is always brighter than any star (apart from the Sun). With an apparent magnitude of −4.9, Venus is clearly visible from earth, Venus fades to about an apparent magnitude of −3 when it is back lit by the Sun; which is still very bright when viewing from Earth. The planet is bright enough to be seen in a mid-day with clear skies, and the planet can be easy to see when the Sun is low on the horizon.

Mythology
The astronomical symbol for Venus is the same symbol that used in biology for the female sex: a circle with a small cross beneath. The Venus symbol also represents femininity. The symbol for Venus has sometimes been understood to stand for the mirror of the goddess.