Venus Facts

 

  • Closest planet to Earth (Mars is the second closest)
  • Brightest object in the sky except the sun and the moon
  • Closest in size to Earth
  • Similar in age to Earth at approximately 4.5 billion years.
  • One of the most  inhospitable planets in the solar system with:
    • A surface temperature of 900 degrees Fahrenheit (this is hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the sun)
    • A surface pressure of 91 atmospheres (equivalent to being over a half mile below the surface of the ocean)
    • An atmosphere made up of
      1. Carbon dioxide 95% (note that CO2 is a greenhouse gas)
      2. Nitrogen – 3.5%
      3. Sulphuric acid
  • Russia landed several probes on the surface. None of them survived more than 2 hours.
  • It is believed by scientists that at one time Venus had an earth-like atmosphere that was destroyed by a green-house effect.