In Christian times, Lucifer, or "light-bringer," became known as the name of Satan before his fall. However, further observations of Venus in the space age show a very hellish environment.
This makes Venus a very difficult planet to observe from up close, because spacecraft do not survive long on its surface.
Venus and Earth are often called twins because they are similar in size, mass, density, composition and gravity. The interior of Venus is made of a metallic iron core that's roughly 2, miles 6, km wide. Venus' molten rocky mantle is roughly 1, miles 3, km thick. Venus' crust is mostly basalt, and is estimated to be 6 to 12 miles 10 to 20 km thick, on average. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. Although Venus is not the planet closest to the sun, its dense atmosphere traps heat in a runaway version of the greenhouse effect that warms Earth.
As a result, temperatures on Venus reach degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius , which is more than hot enough to melt lead. Spacecraft have survived only a few hours after landing on the planet before being destroyed. With scorching temperatures, Venus also has a hellish atmosphere , that consists mainly of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric acid and only trace amounts of water.
Its atmosphere is heavier than that of any other planet, leading to a surface pressure that's over 90 times that of Earth — similar to the pressure that exists 3, feet 1, meters deep in the ocean. Incredibly, however, is that early in Venus' history, the planet may have actually been habitable , according to models from researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and other studies.
Venus' surface is extremely dry. During its evolution, ultraviolet rays from the sun evaporated water quickly, keeping the planet in a prolonged molten state. There is no liquid water on its surface today because the scorching heat created by its ozone-filled atmosphere would cause water to immediately boil away. Related: Inside the Planet Venus Infographic. Roughly two-thirds of the Venusian surface is covered by flat, smooth plains that are marred by thousands of volcanoes, some of which are still active today , ranging from about 0.
Six mountainous regions make up about one-third of the Venusian surface. One mountain range, called Maxwell, is about miles km long and reaches up to some 7 miles Venus also possesses a number of surface features that are unlike anything on Earth. For example, Venus has coronae , or crowns — ring-like structures that range from roughly 95 to 1, miles to km wide. Scientists believe these formed when hot material beneath the planet's crust rose up, warping the planet's surface.
Venus also has tesserae, or tiles — raised areas in which many ridges and valleys have formed in different directions. With conditions on Venus that could be described as infernal, the ancient name for Venus — Lucifer — seems to fit. However, the name doesn't carry any fiendish connotations; Lucifer means "light-bringer," and when seen from Earth, Venus is brighter than any other planet or even any star in the night sky because of its highly reflective clouds and its closeness to our planet.
Many believe that Venus was even more similar to Earth billions of years ago, having even oceans, but something happened and changed all of this. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa, believed to have been compiled around the mid th century BCE, shows that the Babylonians understood that the Evening Star and Morning Star were a single object.
The planets closest to Venus, its neighbors, are Earth and Mercury. Venus is almost always visible with the naked eye. Venus Facts for Kids Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and the sixth largest of all the planets. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Home » Planets for Kids » Venus. Venus and Mercury are the only planets in the Solar System that do not have a moon. Venus is the second brightest object in the sky after the Moon, and the Sun.
It is the only planet named after a female deity and the brightest planet in the Solar System. Venus is 62 degrees hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. One day on Venus lasts for about Earth days. This is the slowest rotation of any planet making it the most spherical object in the Solar System, after the Sun. Venus and Uranus rotate in the opposite direction than the other planets. They both move from East to West, clockwise.
Venus has montains, valleys, and tens of thousands of volcanoes. Surface and Structure Venus is a little smaller than Earth , but like our planet, it has mountains, volcanoes, and few craters that indicate a relatively young surface.
Since Venus rotates backwards, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Fun Facts: The symbol for Venus is actually the world symbol for the female gender. Though Venus can be easily seen, its surface is hidden by thick clouds and because of this, it was believed for a long time that the planet was similar to Earth. Because of its brightness, Venus has been the most confused object in the sky. The probe used ultra-violet and infrared light.
This thick atmosphere also creates a greenhouse effect that helps raise the surface temperature of the planet. Do you remember the clouds of sulfuric acid? Those sulfur compounds in the atmosphere create Venus' yellow color. The atmospheric reflection also makes it a very bright object in our night sky.
It is easier too see with a telescope than the dark planet Mercury. By watching the atmosphere of Venus, astronomers discovered that Venus is upside down when compared to Earth. It has a South Pole on the top of the planet and the North Pole on the bottom. North and South Poles are defined by the direction a planet rotates.
0コメント