The content of this issue is quite diverse: it includes news of the Universe and the Solar System, up-to-date information about space launches, and the publication of a section for astronomy amateurs telling about the main celestial events of January-February 2019 has also been resumed.
The issue opens with a brief report on the main astronomical event of the outgoing year — the XXX General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), held in August in the Austrian capital Vienna. For the second time, this event, held every three years in one of the world’s scientific centers, was attended by representatives of the editorial board of our journal.
The author’s articles are devoted to the analysis of the main trends in world cosmonautics in 2018, the problem of pollution of near-Earth space, the study of Vendian — one of the most mysterious periods in the history of the Earth — according to excavations on the territory of Ukraine. Two extensive materials tell about the latest results and prospects of the study of Venus — the closest to Earth and at the same time the most mysterious planet of the Solar System.
