VENUS

VITAL STATISTICS

Diameter 12,104 kmMass 4.8 x 1021 tMean density 5.25Rotation period 243 Earth daysRevolution period (Venusian year) 224 Earth days

Length of a solar day 117 Earth daysSurface gravity 8.87 m/s2

Natural satellites noneRing system noneOrbitAphelion 109 million kmPerihelion 107 million kmFurthest distance from Earth 261 million kmClosest distance to Earth 38 million km

BASIC INFORMATIONVenus, the second planet from the sun,

is named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Venus and Earth are often called twins because they are almost similar in size, mass, density, composition and gravity.

Venus is one of the terrestrial planets -- those with solid, rocky surfaces inhabiting the inner part of our solar system.

Its axis is nearly vertical and its orbit is nearly circular so Venus does not experience seasons the way Earth and Mars do because of their more tilted axes and more elliptical orbits.

BASIC INFORMATION

A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days (that's how long it takes Venus to make one rotation), while a year on Venus (its revolution period around the sun) is shorter, at just 224.7 Earth days.

BASIC INFORMATION

CAN LIFE EXIST IN VENUS?NO!

Venus is the hottest world in the solar system.

It has coronae, or crowns — ring like structures that range from roughly 95 to 360 miles (155 to 580 km) wide.

BASIC INFORMATION

The air pressure on the surface of Venus is extreme — about 90 times higher than the pressure at sea level here on Earth. In other words, the pressure on Venus is about the same as the water pressure on Earth about half a mile (1 km) under the ocean.

BASIC INFORMATION

There are more volcanoes on Venus than on any other planet in the solar system.

BASIC INFORMATION

It also lacks a magnetic field and a satellite.

Venus has a hellish atmosphere as well, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric acid, and scientists have only detected trace amounts of water in the atmosphere.

BASIC INFORMATION

Except for the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky.

It is often called the morning star when it appears in the east at sunrise, and the evening star when it is in the west at sunset.

BASIC INFORMATION

In ancient times the evening star was called Hesperus and the morning star Phosphorus, Eosphoros, or Lucifer.

BASIC INFORMATION

Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, the planet appears to have phases like the moon.

BASIC INFORMATION

Venus is rare among the planets in that we can see it cross in front of the sun. Only Venus and Mercury do this from the vantage point of Earth.

BASIC INFORMATION

MOTIONS

MOTIONSVenus circles th

e Sun once every 224.7 days in a counterclockwise direction, the same direction as the other planets in the solar system.

MOTIONSVenus rotates on its

axis the opposite way that most planets rotate. That means on Venus, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east. On Earth, the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.

MAGNETIC FIELD AND TENUOUS ATMOSPHERE

MAGNETIC FIELD AND TENUOUS ATMOSPHERE

Venus is a rarity among planets - a world that does not internally generate a magnetic field.

WHY??

In part because of its slow rotation (243 days) and its predicted lack of internal thermal convection, any liquid metallic portion of its core could not be rotating fast enough to generate a measurable global magnetic field.

MAGNETIC FIELD AND TENUOUS ATMOSPHERE

Despite the absence of a large protective magnetosphere, the near-Venus environment does exhibit a number of similarities with planets such as Earth. The latest, surprising, example is the evidence for magnetic reconnection in Venus' induced magnetotail.

MAGNETIC FIELD AND TENUOUS ATMOSPHERE

VENUS’ ATMOSPHERE

EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR

TRAITS

EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR TRAITS

RESEARCH AND

EXPLORATIONS

RESEARCH AND EXPLORATIONS1962: NASA's Mariner 2 came within

21,600 miles (34,760 km) of Venus, making it the first planet to be observed by a passing spacecraft.

1967: Mariner 5

1974: Mariner 10

Vega 1 and 2, sent toward Halley’s comet in 1984, also flew by Venus and released descent capsules. Several of these probes successfully reached the planet’s surface.

1978: Pioneer Venus 2 sent four probes to the surface, while the remaining craft explored the upper atmosphere.

RESEARCH AND EXPLORATIONS

1978: Pioneer Venus 1, an orbiter, measured the upper atmosphere for 14 years.

The Magellan probe, launched toward Venus in 1989, transmitted radar images of the planet from 1990 to 1994.

RESEARCH AND EXPLORATIONS

2005 the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Venus Express spacecraft on a mission to Venus. It is equipped with instruments designed to study the structure, chemistry, and dynamics of the planet’s atmosphere, particularly its hurricane-force winds and its cloud system.

The Venus Express also carried the first infrared instrument designed to study the planet’s surface at infrared wavelengths, making it possible to detect active volcanoes if they exist.

TRIVIAS

TRIVIA

Global warming on Venus has caused the surface temperature to rise to nearly 9000 F, enough to melt lead.

• Winds swipe across Venus at super-fast speeds that can reach 450 miles an hour (724 kph) in its middle cloud layer. These Venusian winds are faster than the speediest tornado on Earth.

TRIVIA

TRIVIA

It's often mistaken for a UFO

TRIVIAIts features are feminine

Devana Chasma (canyons), named for the Czechoslovakian goddess of hunting; Chondi Chasma, named for the Bengali goddess of wild animals

Copacati Mons (mountain), named after the Inca lake goddess.

The irregularly shaped craters, called patera, were named after famous women, including Bers Patera (named for Leo Tolstoy's wife Sofya Andreyevna Bers) and Keller Patera (named for blind and deaf American writer Helen Keller)

SOURCES:• http://www.space.com/44-venus-second-planet-from-the-sun

-brightest-planet-in-solar-system.html• http://space.about.com/od/venus/a/Venus.htm• http://www.space.com/15988-venus-planet-weird-facts.html• http://sci.esa.int/venus-express/50246-a-magnetic-surprise-fo

r-venus-express/

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