- Venus is the second planet from the Sun closest to the earth. The minimum distance from the Earth is 42 million km.
- The equatorial diameter of Venus is 12100 km (95% of the Earth's)
- Weight 4.87∙10 24 kg (0.82 Earth), density 5250 kg/m3
- The rotation of Venus around its axis is the reverse, this means that the sunrise on the planet occurs in the west, the sunset in the east. Venus rotates very slowly around its axis, one rotation is 243.02 Earth days.
- The period of revolution around the Sun is 224.7 Earth days; the average orbital speed is 35 km/s.
- Venus is one of the most beautiful stars in the sky. Within 585 days, periods of its evening and morning visibility alternate. When viewed from Earth, Venus changes shape and size. The largest Venus looks in the crescent phase.
- Venus is a hot, waterless planet with a colossal atmospheric pressure of 9.2 MPa.
- The planet's atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide, which traps the planet's heat. Over millions of years of the greenhouse effect, temperatures have reached 480°C, and would be even higher if the clouds did not reflect 80% of the sun's heat. The atmosphere of Venus extends up to an altitude of 250 km. The clouds of Venus are formed by droplets of sulfuric acid, and sulfur has entered the atmosphere of Venus as a result of fashionable and prolonged volcanic activity.
- Science still doesn't know why Venus's atmosphere is involved in one giant hurricane. At the surface of Venus, the wind is weak, no more than 1 m/s, in the equatorial region at an altitude of over 50 km it increases to 150-300 m/s. The nature of the electrical activity of the atmosphere of Venus is also not clear, where lightning sparkles twice as often as on Earth.
- A complete cartography of Venus was made by the Magellan spacecraft in 1990-1992. using radar methods.
Planet Venus interesting facts. Some you may already know, others should be completely new to you. So read and learn new interesting facts about the "morning star".
Earth and Venus are very similar in size and mass, and they orbit the Sun in very similar orbits. Its size is only 650 km smaller than the size of the Earth, and the mass is 81.5% of the mass of the Earth.
But that's where the similarity ends. The atmosphere is made up of 96.5% carbon dioxide, and the greenhouse effect raises the temperature to 461°C.
2. A planet can be so bright that it casts shadows.
Only the Sun and Moon are brighter than Venus. Its brightness can vary from -3.8 to -4.6 magnitudes, but it is always brighter than the brightest stars in the sky.
3. Hostile atmosphere
The mass of the atmosphere is 93 times greater than the Earth's atmosphere. The pressure on the surface is 92 times greater than the pressure on Earth. It is also like diving a kilometer under the surface of the ocean.
4. It rotates in the opposite direction compared to other planets.
Venus rotates very slowly, a day is 243 Earth days. Even stranger is that it rotates in the opposite direction compared to all other planets in the solar system. All planets rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Except for the heroine of our article. It rotates clockwise.
5. Many spacecraft have managed to land on its surface.
In the midst of the space race, the Soviet Union launched a series of Venus spacecraft and some successfully landed on its surface.
Venera 8 was the first spacecraft to land on the surface and transmit photographs to Earth.
6. People used to think that there are "tropics" on the second planet from the Sun.
While we sent the first spacecraft to study Venus from close range, no one really knew what was hidden below the dense clouds of the planet. Science fiction writers dreamed of lush tropical jungles. The hellish temperature and dense atmosphere surprised everyone.
7. The planet has no satellites.
Venus looks like our twin. Unlike Earth, it has no moons. Mars has moons, and even Pluto has moons. But she... no.
8. The planet has phases.
Although it looks like a very bright star in the sky, if you can look at it with a telescope, you will see something different. When looking at it through a telescope, you can see that the planet goes through phases like the moon. When it is closer, it looks like a thin crescent. And at the maximum distance from the Earth, it becomes dim and in the form of a circle.
9. There are very few craters on its surface.
While the surfaces of Mercury, Mars, and the Moon are littered with impact craters, there are relatively few craters on the surface of Venus. Planetary scientists believe that its surface is only 500 million years old. Constant volcanic activity smoothes and removes any impact craters.
10. The last ship to explore Venus is the Venus Express.
Many spacecraft have gone to the planet, but one of the most modern ships has been working there until recently. Venus Express was launched on April 11, 2006. He made a detailed study of the Venusian atmosphere and clouds, as well as the environment and its surface. The device was discontinued in 2015.
The second planet from the Sun, Venus, is the closest to the Earth and, perhaps, the most beautiful of the terrestrial planets. For thousands of years, she has attracted curious glances from scientists of antiquity and modernity, to mere mortal poets. No wonder she bears the name of the Greek goddess of love. But its study adds questions rather than provides any answers.
One of the first observers, Galileo Galilei, observed Venus with a telescope. With the advent of more powerful optical devices such as telescopes in 1610, people began to note the phases of Venus, which closely resembled the phases of the moon. Venus is one of the brightest luminaries in our sky, so at dusk and in the morning, you can see the planet with the naked eye. Watching its passage in front of the Sun, Mikhailo Lomonosov in 1761 examined a thin iridescent rim that surrounded the planet. This is how the atmosphere was discovered. It turned out to be very powerful: the pressure near the surface reached 90 atmospheres!
The greenhouse effect explains the high temperatures of the lower layers of the atmosphere. It is also present on other planets, for example, on Mars, due to it, the temperature can rise by 9 °, on Earth - up to 35 °, and on Venus - it reaches its maximum, among the planets - up to 480 ° C.
The internal structure of Venus
The structure of Venus, our neighbor, is similar to other planets. It includes the crust, mantle and core. The radius of the liquid core containing a lot of iron is approximately 3200 km. The structure of the mantle - molten substance - is 2800 km, and the thickness of the crust is 20 km. Surprisingly, with such a nucleus, the magnetic field is practically absent. This is most likely due to the slow rotation. The atmosphere of Venus reaches 5500 km, the upper layers of which are almost entirely composed of hydrogen. Back in 1983, the Soviet automatic interplanetary stations (AMS) Venera-15 and Venera-16 discovered mountain peaks with lava flows on Venus. Now the number of volcanic objects reaches 1600 pieces. Volcanic eruptions testify to the activity of the bowels of the planet, which are locked under thick layers of basalt shell.
Rotation around own axis
Most of the planets in the solar system rotate around their axis from west to east. Venus, like Uranus, is an exception to this rule, and rotates in the opposite direction, from east to west. Such non-standard rotation is called retrograde. Thus, a full rotation around its axis lasts 243 days.
Scientists believe that after the formation of Venus, there was a large amount of water on its surface. But, with the advent of the greenhouse effect, the evaporation of the seas began and the release into the atmosphere, which is part of various rocks, carbon dioxide anhydrite. This led to an increase in water evaporation and an increase in temperature in general. After some time, the water disappeared from the surface of Venus and passed into the atmosphere.
Now, the surface of Venus looks like a rocky desert, with occasional mountains and undulating plains. From the oceans, only huge depressions remained on the planet. Radar data taken from interplanetary stations recorded traces of recent volcanic activity.
In addition to the Soviet AMS, the American Magelan also visited Venus. He produced an almost complete mapping of the planet. During the scanning process, a huge number of volcanoes, hundreds of craters and numerous mountains were discovered. According to the characteristic elevations, relative to the average level, scientists have identified 2 continents - the land of Aphrodite and the land of Ishtar. On the first mainland, the size of Africa, there is an 8-kilometer Mount Maat - a huge extinct volcano. The Ishtar mainland is comparable to the size of the United States. Its attraction can be called the 11-kilometer Maxwell Mountains - the highest peaks on the planet. The composition of rocks resembles terrestrial basalt.
In the Venusian landscape, one can find impact craters filled with lava and about 40 km in diameter. But this is an exception, because there are only about 1 thousand of them.
Characteristics of Venus
Weight: 4.87 * 1024 kg (0.815 Earth)
Diameter at equator: 12102 km
Axis Tilt: 177.36°
Density: 5.24 g/cm3
Average surface temperature: +465 °C
Period of revolution around the axis (day): 244 days (retrograde)
Distance from the Sun (average): 0.72 AU e. or 108 million km
Orbital period around the Sun (year): 225 days
Orbital speed: 35 km/s
Orbital eccentricity: e = 0.0068
Orbital inclination to the ecliptic: i = 3.86°
Free fall acceleration: 8.87m/s2
Atmosphere: carbon dioxide (96%), nitrogen (3.4%)
Satellites: no
The story about Venus for children contains information about the temperature on Venus, about its satellites and features. You can supplement the message about Venus with interesting facts.
A short message about Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It bears the name of the ancient Roman goddess of love. Due to its bright radiance, it is clearly visible even to the naked eye. In ancient times, it was called the "morning" and "evening star". This is a neighbor of our planet, these planets are also similar in size and appearance.
Venus is surrounded by a fairly dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide. On the surface there are mountains and plains, volcanic eruptions often occur.
Temperatures on the surface of Venus reach over 400 degrees Celsius because the planet is covered by dense layers of clouds that trap heat.
However, on the shadow side on Venus, the temperature is about 20 degrees below zero, because the sun's rays do not fall here for a very long time. Venus has no satellites.
Message about Venus for children
Venus is the second planet of the solar system. Named after Venus, the goddess of love from the Roman pantheon. It is the only one of the eight major planets in the solar system to be named after a female deity.
Venus is sometimes referred to as "Earth's sister" because the two planets are similar in size, gravity, and composition. However, the conditions on the two planets are very different.
The atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, the rest is nitrogen with a small amount of other compounds. According to its structure the atmosphere is dense, deep and very cloudy. But the surface of the planet is difficult to see due to a kind of "greenhouse effect". The pressure there is 85 times greater than ours. The composition of the surface in its density resembles the basalts of the Earth, but it is extremely dry due to the complete absence of liquid and high temperatures. The temperature on the planet rises to 462°C. The crust is 50 km thick and consists of silicate rocks.
Research scientists have shown that Venus has granite deposits along with uranium, thorium and potassium, as well as basalt rocks. The top layer of soil is close to the earth, and the surface is strewn with thousands of volcanoes.
- One axial rotation (sidereal day) takes 243 days, and the orbital path covers 225 days. A sunny day lasts 117 days. it the longest day on all the planets of the solar system.
Another interesting feature - Venus, unlike other planets in the system, rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west. It also lacks satellites.
Venus. Astronomers often refer to it as "Sister Earth" because of the similar composition, gravity, and size of the planets. However, the rest of the parameters are completely opposite. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, it is the hottest planet in the solar system, but more about everything.
The history of the discovery of the planet
Due to its proximity to the Sun and Earth, Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, so mankind knew about its existence at the dawn of civilization. The first observations of the planet, and we can say the official proof of its existence, were made by Galileo Galilei in 1610.
10 things you need to know about Venus!
- Venus is the second planet from the Sun in the solar system.
- Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, although it is the second planet from the Sun. Surface temperature can reach 475°C
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- The first spacecraft sent to explore Venus was launched from Earth on February 12, 1961 and was called Venera 1.
- Venus is one of two planets that has a different direction of rotation than most planets in the solar system.
- The orbit of the planet around the Sun is very close to circular.
- The day and night temperatures of the surface of Venus are practically the same due to the large thermal inertia of the atmosphere.
- Venus makes one revolution around the Sun in 225 Earth days, and one revolution around its axis in 243 Earth days, that is, one day on Venus lasts more than one year.
- The first telescope observations of Venus were made by Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.
- Venus has no natural satellites.
- Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, after the Sun and Moon.
Astronomical characteristics
Aphelion
The meaning of the name of the planet Venus
Venus, like most other planets, got its name in the days of Ancient Rome. Because of her beauty and brightness in the starry sky, she was honored with the name of the eternally young and shy goddess of love - Venus.
Physical characteristics of Venus
Rings and satellites
In the 17th and 18th centuries, due to the imperfection of observational equipment, various astronomers put forward assumptions about the presence of satellites around Venus. However, scientific studies of spacecraft and powerful ground-based telescopes have shown that there are no satellites or rings around Venus.
Planet Features
Venus and the Earth are close in size, mass, density of the material that makes up the average distance from the Sun, but this is where their similarities end.
Venus is covered in a thick layer of rapidly collapsing atmosphere, creating a scorched world at a temperature sufficient to melt lead and a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth. Due to its proximity to the Earth, as well as the very high ability of clouds to reflect sunlight, Venus is the brightest planet in the sky.
Like Mercury, Venus can be observed during periodic passage against the background of the Sun. These transits occur in pairs, with an interval of about 100 years. Since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have been able to observe transits in 1631 and 1639; 1761, 1769; 1874, 1882. The last observed pair of transits occurred not so long ago - June 8, 2004 and June 6, 2012. Unfortunately, those who did not have time to look at Venus four years ago will have to wait another hundred or so years, as the next pair of transits will occur in 2117 and 2125.
The atmosphere of Venus is composed mainly of carbon dioxide, and the clouds are composed of droplets of sulfuric acid. The presence of water in the planet's atmosphere has also been confirmed, but in very small quantities. The planet's thick atmosphere absorbs solar heat and does not let it out, as a result of which the planet's surface heats up to very high temperatures - about 470 ° C. Research probes that landed on the surface of Venus could not be in working order for more than a few hours, after which they collapsed due to high temperature and pressure.
One year on Venus lasts about 225 Earth days, while the full period of the planet's revolution around itself lasts about 243 Earth days, which makes a day on Venus incredibly long in time and is 117 days. Venus is one of two planets in the solar system (the other being Uranus) that rotates on its axis in the opposite direction to the other planets. If you were to visit Venus, you would see the Sun rise in the west and set in the east.
While the planet is moving along its solar orbit, slowly rotating around its axis in the opposite direction, in its atmosphere, the atmosphere is already moving in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation around its axis at an incredible speed, revolving around the planet every four days. What is the source of such powerful hurricanes in the planet's atmosphere is still a mystery to scientists.
About 90% of the surface of Venus is covered with a layer of basaltic lava. Some scientists suggest that volcanic activity on the planet is still ongoing, but no evidence has been found in favor of this theory. The low number of impact craters indicates a fairly young surface of the planet - approximately 500 million years.
The surface of Venus is dotted with over a thousand volcanoes or volcanic centers with diameters over 20 kilometers. Volcanic lava flows have created long, winding channels that stretch for hundreds of kilometers.
Venus has two large high-altitude regions: "Land of Ishtar", located in the northern polar region of the planet and comparable in size to Australia, and "Land of Aphrodite", located along the equator, a mountain range more than 10,000 kilometers long. Mount Maxwell, the highest mountain on Venus, comparable in size to the earth's Everest and located on the eastern edge of the "Land of Ishtar".
Venus has an iron core with a radius of about 3,000 kilometers, then a mantle about 3,300 kilometers wide, and a crust of the planet about 16 kilometers thick. The planet does not have a magnetic field, from which scientists concluded that there is no movement of charged particles in the iron core - an electric current, the flow of which causes the formation of a magnetic field. Therefore, the core is in a solid state.
planetary atmosphere
The first evidence of the existence of an atmosphere on Venus was obtained by the Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov on June 6, 1761 during the observation of the transit of the planet against the background of the Sun. However, its composition, density and other characteristics were studied much later.
The main component of the atmosphere of Venus, extending to a height of up to 250 kilometers, is carbon dioxide. Its percentage is about 96%. Compared to Earth, Venus contains 105 times more gas in its atmosphere than Earth's. This led to the fact that the pressure at the surface of the planet reaches 93 atmospheres, and such a high content of carbon dioxide led to the appearance of a greenhouse effect, as a result of which the temperature on the planet's surface reaches 475 ° C. .
The composition of the cloud cover is currently not fully understood, but scientists suggest that it may consist of droplets of sulfuric acid and various compounds of chlorine and sulfur.
One of the amazing features of the atmosphere of Venus is its speed around the planet, which is about 60 times greater than the speed of rotation of the planet itself around its axis. Scientists are at a loss as to what is the driving force behind the generation and maintenance of such a gigantic planetary hurricane.
In addition to strong winds, the Venera-2 research apparatus on the planet recorded lightning strikes twice as often as on Earth. Their source is not water, as on other planets of the solar system, but droplets of sulfuric acid, which make up the cloud cover of the planet.
Useful articles that will answer most interesting questions about Venus.
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