Go to: PURPLE PLANET Earth's closest neighbor in distance and size, Venus seems to glow in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. Cloud patterns in the sulfuric acid shroud around the planet become distinct in the 1995 ultraviolet portrait. A horizontal 'Y'- shaped feature near the equator suggests climate patterns like high and low pressure cells on Earth. Being closer to the sun, Venus goes through phases like the moon, changing from full disk to crescent. (09/04/02)