<P> The atmosphere of Venus was discovered in 1761 by Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov . Venus's atmosphere was observed in 1790 by German astronomer Johann Schröter . Schröter found when the planet was a thin crescent, the cusps extended through more than 180 ° . He correctly surmised this was due to scattering of sunlight in a dense atmosphere . Later, American astronomer Chester Smith Lyman observed a complete ring around the dark side of the planet when it was at inferior conjunction, providing further evidence for an atmosphere . The atmosphere complicated efforts to determine a rotation period for the planet, and observers such as Italian - born astronomer Giovanni Cassini and Schröter incorrectly estimated periods of about 7004864000000000000 ♠ 24 h from the motions of markings on the planet's apparent surface . </P> <P> Little more was discovered about Venus until the 20th century . Its almost featureless disc gave no hint what its surface might be like, and it was only with the development of spectroscopic, radar and ultraviolet observations that more of its secrets were revealed . The first ultraviolet observations were carried out in the 1920s, when Frank E. Ross found that ultraviolet photographs revealed considerable detail that was absent in visible and infrared radiation . He suggested this was due to a dense, yellow lower atmosphere with high cirrus clouds above it . </P> <P> Spectroscopic observations in the 1900s gave the first clues about the Venusian rotation . Vesto Slipher tried to measure the Doppler shift of light from Venus, but found he could not detect any rotation . He surmised the planet must have a much longer rotation period than had previously been thought . Later work in the 1950s showed the rotation was retrograde . Radar observations of Venus were first carried out in the 1960s, and provided the first measurements of the rotation period, which were close to the modern value . </P> <P> Radar observations in the 1970s revealed details of the Venusian surface for the first time . Pulses of radio waves were beamed at the planet using the 300 m (980 ft) radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory, and the echoes revealed two highly reflective regions, designated the Alpha and Beta regions . The observations also revealed a bright region attributed to mountains, which was called Maxwell Montes . These three features are now the only ones on Venus that do not have female names . </P>

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