As Venus is not a star, it does not shine by its own light. But its unusually dense atmosphere reflects the sunlight so effectively that it seems to radiate in space. It is thus one of the brightest of the heavenly bodies in the night sky. The dense, opaque atmosphere is also the reason why scientists were for long unable to study the surface of Venus. Only radar beams could penetrate through the gas cover. The probe 'Magellan' worked with radar beams and prepared the first complete map of the surface of Venus after 1990. We now know that Venus has lowlands and highlands as well as some canyons on its surface.
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