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
Mass Diameter Density Gravity Escape Velocity Rotation Period Length of Day 5.37 7521 327 29.1 6.4 -5832.5 2802

Earth
6.58 7926 344 32.1 7 23.9 24

Unit of measure
x E 21 tons miles lbs/ft 3 ft/s 2 miles/s hours hours

Distance from Sun

Orbital Period Axial Tilt

67.2
224.7 177.4 867

93
365.2 23.5 59 15 288

Million miles
Earth days degrees degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius Kelvin

Mean Temperature

464 737

Surface Pressure
Number of Moons Ring System? Global Magnetic Field?

90
0 No No

1
1 No Yes

WHY PEOPLE CANT 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% 96

% 0.9

% 0.1

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.

VENUSS 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 its rotation.

VENUSS 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 Venuss clouds and followed changes in them. 1990-1993 NASAs 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).