Venus is considered the most hostile planet in the solar system. Along with Earth and Mars, Venus and Mercury make up the inner solar system. Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is the second-largest terrestrial planet but millions of years ago, Venus largely resembled Earth due their similar size and mass.
1. Twin Planet
Venus is sometimes called ‘’Earth’s sister planet’’ or ‘’Earth’s twin planet’’ because they are near equal to size, have almost the same mass, are made of the same material, and have a lot in common regarding composition. It has a diameter of 12,104 km.
2. Bright Object
Venus is the third brightest object occurring in the solar system, behind the Sun and Moon. It’s a bright object because of its apparent magnitude of -3.8 to -4.6. This magnitude value makes Venus visible on a bright, clear day. Venus is also the second planet from the Sun, after Mercury.
3. Volcanoes
Venus experiences more volcanoes (1600+) than any other planet in the solar system, but scientists are unsure of the level of their activity.
4. The Name
Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, which makes it the only planet in the solar system named after a female. Ancient scientists labelled Venus both Hesperus and Phosphorus, wrongly thinking that the object seen in the evenings and mornings were two distinct celestial objects. However, the planet was later renamed Venus after the Roman goddess of beauty and love.
5. Days
A day on Venus equals 243 Earth days (to make one complete rotation). This is due to Venus’s slow rotation. A year on Venus (revolution around the Sun) takes 224.7 Earth days. One day-night cycle on Venus takes 117 Earth days.
6. Temperature
At an average temperature of 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius), Venus ranks first as the hottest planet in the solar system. Because of the characteristic thick atmosphere found on Venus, the surface temperature can hit an astonishing 470 degrees Celsius. Moreover, it is hotter than Mercury despite being further away from the Sun.
7. Cloud
Close-up images reveal that Venus is always covered by a dense cloud of sulfuric acid. No light can permeate this Acid cloud. This has made it impossible for Astronomers to view the landform and other features via optical telescopes. A lot of data about Venus has been acquired through radar images From the United States and Russia space probes.
8. Dry
The surface of Venus is always dry because of the extremely high temperatures there, which can go up to 900 degrees Celsius. This means that if any liquid were to be found on the surface of this planet, it would be instantly evaporated by the high temperatures.
9. The Hottest
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, with an average surface temperature of about 867 degrees Fahrenheit (464 degrees Celsius). As such, no evidence of life has been ever found on planet Venus.
10. Acid
The clouds hanging on the surface of Venus lead to constant acid rains. This is the most corrosive rain than any rain occurring in other planets of the solar system.
11. The Water
Scientists think that Venus was once brimming with large bodies of surface water, just like those found on the earth, which, eventually, dried up a million years back when the sun started to give off greater quantities of solar energy.
12. No Moon
All the planets in the solar system have moons orbiting them, except Venus and Mercury. There are no rings around Venus too.
13. Spinning Clockwise
All other planets spin anti-clockwise on their axis and orbit the Sun in an anti-clockwise direction. Venus also orbits the Sun anti-clockwise, but its unusual axis rotation is due to being upside down – it was knocked off its upright position earlier in its history!
Astronomers believe that at some point, a colliding celestial body tilted Venus so far off its original position that it is now upside down. The only other planet to spin in a weird direction is Uranus which spins on its side, probably the result of another collision early on in its life.
14. The Life
If you were to venture there without any gear, you would survive for less than 2 minutes, provided that you held your breath! Visiting Venus would be like landing inside of an oven. The temperature on its surface is approximately 400C. Its surface pressure is also about 90 times greater than that of Earth, provided the water there has dried up.
Also Read – List Of Moons In Our Solar System
