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Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and Earth's closest planetary neighbor. Venus is the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction from most planets.
- All About Venus
But on Venus, the Sun rises every 117 Earth days. That means...
- All About Venus
Feb 26, 2024 · Uncover the mysteries of Venus, the solar system's scorching second planet from the sun, renowned for its intense heat and brightness.
- About Venus
- Temperature and Atmosphere
- The Exploration of Venus
Formation
Like all the other planets, Venus was likely formed in the large cloud of gas, dust, and ice of the ancient solar system, which collapsed into a spinning disc. Our Sun was born at its centre, and the planets were created about 4.5 billion years ago from particles sticking together along rings in the disc. Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun and is often called Earth's "sister planet" or "twin planet."Venus and Earth have very similar sizes, masses, and compositions, but are otherwis...
Orbit and rotation
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise; all the other planets rotate counter-clockwise. Venus's rotation is called retrograde rotation. One day on Venus – the time it takes the planet to complete a full rotation on its axis – is equal to 243 days on Earth. That is actually slower than the time it takes for Venus to complete one orbit around the Sun, which takes 225 Earth days. On Venus, as on Mercury, a year is actually shorter than a day!
Surface
Venus shows evidence of very strong volcanic activity and likely has more volcanoes than our planet. Scientists have never seen an active lava flow on Venus, but they estimate that 80% of the planet's surface is covered by smooth, volcanic plains that are left over from previous lava flows. Venus is entirely cloaked in thick clouds that hide its surface. In order to study it, scientists must use either spacecraft that land on the planet or radar technology on board satellites or probes.
Despite being only the second planet from the Sun, Venus (not Mercury) is the hottest planet in our solar system. Venus's high temperature is caused by its extremely thick atmosphere, which is over 90 times thicker than Earth's! This outer layer is composed almost entirely of carbon dioxide, a well-known gas responsible for a very strong greenhouse...
The first exploration of Venus was done by the Soviet probe Venera 1. Launched in 1961, the spacecraft was supposed to fly by Venus to take a closer look at the planet. Unfortunately, the probe malfunctioned before it made its closest approach. Many other spacecraft were launched to study Venus, including several that landed on the planet's surface...
- 108,208,000 km
- 12,104 km, or 95% the size of Earth
- 4.868 × 10 24 kg, or 82% the mass of Earth
- Rocky planet
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and the sixth largest planet. It’s the hottest planet in our solar system. Venus is a cloud-swaddled planet named for a love goddess, and often called Earth’s twin.
On Earth, with its spin axis tilted by about 23 degrees, we experience summer when our part of the planet (our hemisphere) receives the Sun’s rays more directly – a result of that tilt. In winter, the tilt means the rays are less direct.
Nov 8, 2024 · But on Venus, the Sun rises every 117 Earth days. That means the Sun rises two times during each year on Venus, even though it is still the same day on Venus! And because Venus rotates backwards, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
People also ask
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Venus is the second planet from the Sun, making a full orbit in about 224 days. Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 0.72 AU (108 million km; 67 million mi), and completes an orbit every 224.7 days.
