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IMPORTANT FACTS:
With a few exceptions, the surface features on
Venus are named for female figures. It is a
terrestrial planet; terrestrial is derived from
the Latin word “terra” meaning earth. Venus
is the second planet from the Sun and is the
sixth largest. It is the brightest object in the
sky after the Sun and our Moon.
IMPORTANT FACTS CONT:
Earth and Venus are
often called the “sister
planets” because of the
many similarities they
share such as their
closeness in size and
mass.
It is the closest
planet to Earth but
because it is shrouded
in highly reflective
clouds, the process of
finding out more
about the planet is
made difficult.
Venus
Earth
Mass
5.37
6.58
x E 21 tons
Diameter
7521
7926
miles
Density
327
344
lbs/ft 3
Gravity
29.1
32.1
ft/s 2
Escape Velocity
6.4
7
Rotation Period
-5832.5
23.9
hours
Length of Day
2802
24
hours
Distance from Sun
67.2
93
Million miles
Orbital Period
224.7
365.2
Earth days
Axial Tilt
177.4
23.5
degrees
867
59
degrees Fahrenheit
464
15
degrees Celsius
737
288
Kelvin
Surface Pressure
90
1
Number of Moons
0
1
Ring System?
No
No
Global Magnetic Field?
No
Yes
Mean Temperature
Unit of measure
miles/s
WHY PEOPLE CAN’T LIVE ON
VENUS:
Venus has an atmosphere that is greatly
different to that on Earth. Venus has
temperatures that are constantly over 900
degrees Fahrenheit, clouds that are composed
mostly of Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and a
high concentration of Carbon Dioxide in its
atmosphere, which adds to the reasons why
no life is thought to exist on the planet.
Venus is not a planet that humans could
survive on.
What is Venus's Atmosphere composed of?
Carbon Dioxide
(CO2)
Nitrogen (N2)
Oxygen (O2)
Water (H2O)
%
3.0
%
0.9
%
0.1
.0%
96
ADDITIONAL FACTS
The Venusian topography
consists of vast plains covered
by lava flows with mountain
or highland regions deformed
by geological activity. There
are two major features on
Venus, the first is Maxwell
Montes, which is the highest
peak on Venus.
ADDITIONAL FACTS CONT:
The second is an area of
highlands (the Aphrodite Terra)
which extend almost half way
around the equator. This area is
about twice as large as the
Northern one and is much
rougher. Spacecraft have
provided some evidence that there
may be active volcanoes on the
planet, but Venus it thought to
have only one plate beneath its
surface.
VENUS’S AXIS:
One major fact about Venus that
makes it stand apart from the
other planets is that it rotates
around its axis the opposite way.
If you were to look down at the
plane of the solar system from
its 'north pole' you would see the
planets orbiting the Sun counter
clockwise, and rotating on their
axis counterclockwise. Except for
Venus.
VENUS AND URANUS
Venus would be rotating
clockwise as it orbited the Sun
counterclockwise. The only
other planet that is an
exception to this rule is
Uranus. The axis of Uranus is
inclined so far towards the
plane of the solar system that
it almost rolls on its side as it
orbits the Sun.
THE DIRECTION OF VENUS:
It is unknown exactly why Venus rotates the
opposite way from other planets, but
currently, the reason is believed to be that an
event occurred while Venus was being formed
that changed the direction of it’s rotation.
VENUS’S SPIN:
The evidence of craters on the surface of
Venus suggests that a large body of material
could have collided with the planet. Rather
than the material forming another separate
body, it is believed that it may have been
absorbed by Venus. The addition of the mass
and kinetic energy would have resulted in
the new spin that we see Venus has now.
MAGNETIC FIELD:
The absence of a magnetic field around
Venus indicates that either Venus has not
got a liquid core or does not rotate fast
enough. Venus rotates on its axis very slowly
compared to the speed the Earth rotates.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE
LANDINGS ON VENUS:
There are many spacecraft that have made observations of
and/or landed on Venus. Here are a few of them:
 1970s – A series of soviet spacecraft landed on Venus and
sent back photographs.
 1970 – Soviet Venera 7 spacecraft – dropped through the
atmosphere of Venus, 23 minutes of data were sent back to
Earth from the surface before it succumbed to the high
temperatures and pressure of the Venus atmosphere.
CONT:
1972 – Soviet Venera 8 spacecraft – survived
on the surface of Venus for 50 minutes.
The Galileo spacecraft and the Hubble space
telescope have observed Venus’s clouds and
followed changes in them.
1990-1993 – NASA’s Pioneer Venus, Venera
15/16 and Magellan – were in orbit around
Venus, making observations of the
topography of the surface.
SOURCES:
On the Web:
www.solarviews.com
http://seds/lpl/arizona.edu
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
Books:
The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New
Millennium (Jay M. Pasachoff and Alex
Filipenko).