The Mapping of Venus

The Sky at Night – Season 24

In December 1978 America's Pioneer Venus I reached its target. Since then it has been orbiting Venus, and mapping the planet's surface by means of radar. Venus is not the kind of world it was once believed to be; it has volcanoes, high plateaux, and deep canyons. In this programme Dr Garry Hunt joins Patrick Moore to describe the new findings, which have changed many of our past theories about this strange world.