VENUS2nd rock from

the sun

The Basics

Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system

Venus is the second planet from the sun Venus is the 3rd largest planet, measuring only

649km smaller in diameter then the earth Venus is 41 million Km from the Earth. Venus is the brightest object in the night sky

after the moon The orbital period is 225 Earth days. 0.00677323 is Venus’ eccentricity. Venus is the most circular planet.

History

Venus is named for the Roman Goddess of love and beauty. Its is the only planet to be named for a female.

Venus has also been called Earth’s twin sister, and the wandering star.

Being that Venus is visible to the naked eye on a clear night its existence has been know since the early days of space observation.

The ancient civilizations knew Venus as the morning Star when it rose in the morning and the evening Star, when it set in the evening. The ancients thought the morning Star and evening Star were two different planets until Pythagoras in 6th century BC noted that the evening star and morning star were one in the same. It was then nicknamed the wandering star.

In 1610 Galileo observed Venus with h telescope, and confirmed that Venus went through distinct phases, just like the Moon.

Formation and Composition Venus was formed in the same way as all the other

solid planet of our universe; through the collision of particles and planetesimals.

During the first two billion years of Venus’s creation it was hit by another planet with enough force to change its rotation on its axis. Venus is the only planet to rotate clockwise.

Venus’s atmosphere is comprised of 97% CO2 and its surface is made up of granite-like materials and basaltic rock(from the lava flow).

Continued The crust of Venus is thought to be

about 50 km thick. Beneath that is the mantle, which is thought to be about 3,000 km thick. However the composition of the mantle is unknown.

At the center of Venus is a metal core. scientists cannot tell if the core is liquid or solid. However Venus has a very limited magnetic field which would suggest that the planet doesn’t have convection in its core.

Also the planet’s temperature does not vary much between the inner and outer core, and so the metal doesn’t flow around and generate a magnetic field indicating it has a solid core.

On the surface

The surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead!!! This is as a result of the greenhouse gases, created by

the 97% Carbon dioxide atmosphere of Venus. Sulfuric acid forms into clouds which prevent

telescopes on earth from viewing Venus’s surface. Venus’s surface, as view from a spacecraft is

exceptionally treacherous. More then 1600 major volcanoes, mountains, large highland terrains, and vast lava plains have been recorded.

The atmosphere of Venus is not where exceptional also. Venus is the hottest planet, and temperatures can reach more than 450C

Venus has an atmosphere 90 times heavier than our own, and clouds of sulfuric acid floating around to top it off!

Mission to Venus No spacecraft have survived on

the surface for longer than a few hours, so there is limited data on Venus.

The first attempted mission to Venus was launched by the USSR on February 4, 1961.

Throughout the early 1960’s 13 failed attempts at contact with Venus were made.

The first successful probe to Venus was launched on June 12th 1967, and arrived on October 18th 1967

Since then there have been 19 Other sucessful venus fly-by’s and probes.

In 2005 the European space agencies launched the Venus express, it continues to transmit images, and information about Venus's atmosphere back to earth

Transit of Venus

When Venus passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun.

This phenomenon occurs once every 122 years. It then happens 8 years later, then it does not happen for another 122 years.

The next transit of Venus occurs June 5 or 6, 2012, depending on your location.  Observers in North America see it the evening of June 5 (my birthday).

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Venus is the only planet named for a female, and every geological feature on Venus is also named for a female. With one exception, the largest mountain range on Venus called Maxwell Montes. This mountain range is commonly referred to as "The Only Man on Venus.

Along with mercury, Venus is the only other planet without any moons.

Venus, the brightest of all the planets, can be so bright that on a moonless night, the planet can actually cast shadows on Earth

Test Questions… time to pay attention

Why is Venus the hottest of the planets despite it not being the closest?

Which direction does Venus rotate on it’s axis?

Which planet does Venus match closest to in size?

Why was Venus given the nickname “the Wandering star”?

Sources

Friedland, Jay. "Transit of Venus." Transit of Venus. N.p., 2004. Web. 10 Mar 2011. http://www.transitofvenus.com/

"38 Random Facts About Venus." Random facts. N.p., 29 mar 2010. Web. 10 Mar 2011. http://facts.randomhistory.com/random-facts-about-venus.html

"Venus." filer.case. N.p., 14 sep 2006. Web. 10 Mar 2011. <http://filer.case.edu/~sjr16/advanced/venus.html>.

"Venus." nine planets. nineplanets, 2010. Web. 10 Mar 2011. <http://nineplanets.org/venus.html>.