Venus Facts and Images

Venus Facts

• Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is Earth's closest planetary neighbor.
• It's one of the four terrestrial planets, meaning it's a rocky body like Earth.
• Venus has a thick atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid.
• Venus's surface temperatures are extremely high, around 465°C (870°F), making it the hottest planet in our Solar System.
• A day on Venus (one rotation) lasts 243 Earth days, and a year (one orbit around the Sun) takes about 225 Earth days.
• Venus rotates in the opposite direction to most planets, meaning the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
• The atmospheric pressure on Venus's surface is about 92 times that of Earth.
• Venus does not have any moons or rings.
• The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
• Venus has a diameter of about 12,104 km (7,521 miles), making it nearly the same size as Earth.
• Venus’s surface is covered with volcanic plains, mountains, and extensive lava flows.
• Due to its thick atmosphere, the planet has a strong greenhouse effect that traps heat.
• Venus has retrograde rotation, which means it rotates backward compared to other planets.
• Venus’s surface is obscured by thick clouds, making it impossible to observe its surface without radar mapping.
• The planet has more volcanoes than any other planet in our Solar System.
• Some areas on Venus may have volcanic activity still occurring today.
• Despite being similar in size to Earth, Venus's surface is very different, with highlands, lowland plains, and large volcanoes.
• Radar mapping has revealed that Venus's surface is relatively young, estimated to be about 300-500 million years old.
• Venus's clouds reflect sunlight, making it one of the brightest objects in our sky.
• The atmospheric composition and surface conditions make it impossible for life as we know it to exist on Venus.