VENUS: THE VEILED PLANET

Planet Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is
second only to the Moon in brilliance in the night sky. It orbits the Sun in a nearly perfect
circle once every 255 Earth-days. Venus is similar to Earth in size, density, mass, and
location in the solar system. Thus, it has been referred to as “Earth’s twin.” Because
of these similarities, it is hoped that a detailed study of Venus will provide geologists with
a better understanding of Earth’s evolutionary history.

Venus is shrouded in thick clouds impenetrable to visible light. The Venusian

atmosphere contains an opaque cloud layer about 25 km thick, and has an atmospheric
pressure that is 90 times that at Earth’s surface.

Before, Venus was considered to be a potentially hospitable site for living

organisms. However, evidence from space probes indicates otherwise. The surface of
Venus reaches temperatures as great as 480 degrees Celsius, and the Venusian
atmosphere is 97% carbon dioxide. Only scant water vapor and nitrogen have been
detected. This hostile environment makes it unlikely that life as we know it exists on
Venus.

About 80% of the Venusian surface consists of subdued plains that are covered
by volcanic flows. Thousands of volcanic structures have been identified, mostly small
shield volcanoes. Only 8% of the Venusian surface consists of highlands that may be
likened to continental areas on Earth.

Facts About Venus

 Venus is the hottest planet of the Solar System. Its surface has an
average temperature of 464 degrees Celsius.
 There is no temperature difference between day and night due to the
high density of its atmosphere mainly composed of carbon dioxide which
causes a huge greenhouse effect.
 Venus is slightly smaller than Earth. It is considered its sister because
they are similar in size, density, composition and volume.
 Venus has no moons.
 The clouds of Venus create a constant acid rain which is the most
corrosive of the entire Solar System.
 The surface of Venus is full of craters and volcanoes with extremely high
activity.
 Venus can be seen to the naked eye from Earth. Except for the moon,
there is no brighter light in our night skies than Venus.
 The pressure that a human being would feel on the surface of Venus
would be equal to the pressure that he would feel at one kilometer of depth, in
any sea of the Earth.
 Venus has the longest day of the Solar System. It takes 243
Earth-days to make one rotation and it makes a complete orbit around the Sun
in 225 Earth-days.
 Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates in the opposite
direction.