Venus Facts
There are many fascinating Venus facts, which help to know the planet better. The position of this planet is second from the Sun, and it is the sixth largest planet in the solar system. The planet has been named after the Goddess of love and beauty, in Roman mythology. Venus and the earth are often called Sister Planets as they are similar in size, mass and density. However, both differ drastically when it comes to the atmosphere and the surface of these planets.
Venus is the warmest planet having a high surface temperature, which is over 900 degrees F. Though, the majority of solar radiation gets reflected back from the planet, it is the impenetrable layer of carbon dioxide gas (by its greenhouse effect) which traps the infrared radiations, making the planet extremely warm.
Venus is most bright of all the planets and is commonly referred to as the Morning Star, as well as the Evening Star.
According to radar mapping the planet exhibits a highly cratered surface with 90% of the landforms volcanic in nature. Venus spins from west to east, which is opposite to the direction in which the earth spins on its axis. That means on Venus, the sun rises from the west and sets in the east.
The atmosphere of Venus is believed to contain 96%carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen and traces of almost negligible water vapor and other gases. The pressure exerted by this atmosphere on the surface of Venus is nearly 90 times greater than the Earth’s atmospheric pressure.
One of the many Venus facts states that the interior composition of the planet is very similar to that of the Earth, with a central iron core in addition to a molten rocky mantle. This planet has been visited by more than 20 spacecrafts. Pioneer Venus 2 is the only ever landed American space probe on Venus. All the other landings are the contribution of Russians.
The speed with which Venus completes its rotation is very slow in comparison to the other planets. A single day of Venus comprises of 243 Earth days.
Among many other astonishing Venus facts is the fact that the planet appears to change in size and exhibits phases, similar to that of the moon. Galileo in 1610 was the first to observe this phenomenon. This discovery, along with the discovery of Jupiter’s moon created a dramatic havoc by changing the view of an earth-centered system into a new sun-centered system. Hence, the world hence became flexible and was no longer ruled by the gods.
Today’s Venus may resemble the earth after a millions of years, as the sun is expanding and the heat will turn all of the earth’s surface water, into vapor and create suffocating conditions, very similar to Venus.