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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.