Facts about Venus<\/strong><\/h2>Venus<\/a> is the second planet from the Sun and our nearest planetary neighbour.<\/p>It has a rocky body similar in nature to Mercury, Earth and Mars.<\/p>
Named after the goddess of love and beauty, and described as Earth\u2019s twin, Venus is only 638.4km smaller in diameter than Earth and has a similar mass.<\/p>![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/PIA00072-97c53d1-e1649925490177.jpg\")
A view of Venus captured by the Galileo spacecraft showing cloud features. The image has been colourised to blue to emphasise contrasts in the cloud markings. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>Despite being further from the Sun than Mercury, Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System. <\/p>
Surface temperatures on Venus reach a scorching average of 475\u00b0C, a stark contrast to Earth\u2019s average of 15\u00b0C.<\/p>
It\u2019s theorised that 4 billion years ago, Venus\u2019s atmosphere was like Earth\u2019s, but today has a dense atmosphere composed of 96% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen and the remainder made up of trace elements including sulphur dioxide.<\/p>
It\u2019s believed that early volcanism released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on both Earth and Venus. <\/p>![\"Venus\u2019s](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/09\/Magellan-Venus-image-6b26c4b.jpg\")
Venus\u2019s northern hemisphere, as seen by NASA\u2019s Magellan probe. Credit: NASA\/JPL<\/figcaption><\/figure>But while our planet\u2019s plate tectonics helped to recycle this back into the rock, Venus was unable to do so.<\/p>
The carbon dioxide simply built up in the atmosphere.<\/p>
This locked the planet into a runaway greenhouse effect, where the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere blocks thermal radiation from exiting the planet, resulting in high temperatures and explaining why Venus is hotter than Mercury.<\/p>
If someone were unlucky enough to stand on Venus\u2019s surface, they would experience a pressure over 90 times Earth\u2019s \u2013 the equivalent of being 3,000 metres below the ocean.\u00a0<\/p>
Perhaps Venus can tell us a lot about the effects of climate change on Earth<\/a>.<\/p>![\"The](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/02\/observe-venus-march-2023-5c0918c.jpg\")
The planet Venus can be a prominent object in the early evening or morning sky, partly because of its dense atmosphere. Credit: Wirestock\/iStock\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>Venus atmosphere and the night sky<\/strong><\/h2>Venus\u2019s atmosphere also makes it the third-brightest object visible with the naked eye.<\/p>
Dense clouds composed of sulphuric acid cover the planet, preventing sunlight penetrating through to the surface.<\/p>
These clouds reflect up to 84% of the incoming rays from the Sun, causing it to outshine most night-sky objects.<\/p>
The clouds race around the planet in days, blown by powerful atmospheric winds of around 300km\/h, releasing droplets of sulphuric acid that evaporate before reaching the planet\u2019s surface.\u00a0<\/p>
Spacecraft that have visited Venus<\/strong><\/h2>![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2019\/12\/Mariner_Venus-d3df4dd.jpg\")
A close-up of Venus captured by NASA’s Mariner 10 probe on 5 February 1974. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>The information we have about Venus\u2019s atmosphere today is credited to the many missions sent to Venus<\/a>.<\/p>In 1962, Venus became the first planet to be visited by spacecraft, when NASA\u2019s Mariner 2 flew within 34,854km of the planet.<\/p>
Since then, nearly 40 missions have visited Venus.<\/p>
After several fly-bys throughout the 1960s and 1970s following Mariner 2, NASA mounted the Pioneer Venus project to enter the planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/09\/Pioneer-Venus-Multiprobe-image-e215bbb.jpg\")
An ultraviolet image of Venus’s atmosphere and clouds captured by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (Feb. 5, 1979). Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>NASA Pioneer<\/strong><\/h3>1978 saw the launch of NASA\u2019s Pioneer Venus mission and the Soviet Venera 11 and 12, all of which collected data about the planet\u2019s hostile atmosphere.<\/p>
In December 1978, Pioneer Venus entered orbit around the planet before deploying the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe (also known as Pioneer Venus 2), containing four smaller probes, into the atmosphere.<\/p>
The orbiter continued to operate until 1992.<\/p>
It has a rocky body similar in nature to Mercury, Earth and Mars.<\/p>
Named after the goddess of love and beauty, and described as Earth\u2019s twin, Venus is only 638.4km smaller in diameter than Earth and has a similar mass.<\/p> Despite being further from the Sun than Mercury, Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System. <\/p> Surface temperatures on Venus reach a scorching average of 475\u00b0C, a stark contrast to Earth\u2019s average of 15\u00b0C.<\/p> It\u2019s theorised that 4 billion years ago, Venus\u2019s atmosphere was like Earth\u2019s, but today has a dense atmosphere composed of 96% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen and the remainder made up of trace elements including sulphur dioxide.<\/p> It\u2019s believed that early volcanism released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere on both Earth and Venus. <\/p> But while our planet\u2019s plate tectonics helped to recycle this back into the rock, Venus was unable to do so.<\/p> The carbon dioxide simply built up in the atmosphere.<\/p> This locked the planet into a runaway greenhouse effect, where the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere blocks thermal radiation from exiting the planet, resulting in high temperatures and explaining why Venus is hotter than Mercury.<\/p> If someone were unlucky enough to stand on Venus\u2019s surface, they would experience a pressure over 90 times Earth\u2019s \u2013 the equivalent of being 3,000 metres below the ocean.\u00a0<\/p> Perhaps Venus can tell us a lot about the effects of climate change on Earth<\/a>.<\/p> Venus\u2019s atmosphere also makes it the third-brightest object visible with the naked eye.<\/p> Dense clouds composed of sulphuric acid cover the planet, preventing sunlight penetrating through to the surface.<\/p> These clouds reflect up to 84% of the incoming rays from the Sun, causing it to outshine most night-sky objects.<\/p> The clouds race around the planet in days, blown by powerful atmospheric winds of around 300km\/h, releasing droplets of sulphuric acid that evaporate before reaching the planet\u2019s surface.\u00a0<\/p> The information we have about Venus\u2019s atmosphere today is credited to the many missions sent to Venus<\/a>.<\/p> In 1962, Venus became the first planet to be visited by spacecraft, when NASA\u2019s Mariner 2 flew within 34,854km of the planet.<\/p> Since then, nearly 40 missions have visited Venus.<\/p> After several fly-bys throughout the 1960s and 1970s following Mariner 2, NASA mounted the Pioneer Venus project to enter the planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p> 1978 saw the launch of NASA\u2019s Pioneer Venus mission and the Soviet Venera 11 and 12, all of which collected data about the planet\u2019s hostile atmosphere.<\/p> In December 1978, Pioneer Venus entered orbit around the planet before deploying the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe (also known as Pioneer Venus 2), containing four smaller probes, into the atmosphere.<\/p> The orbiter continued to operate until 1992.<\/p>Venus atmosphere and the night sky<\/strong><\/h2>
Spacecraft that have visited Venus<\/strong><\/h2>
NASA Pioneer<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"Venera](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2019\/10\/Venera-images-of-Venus-7c75cb2.gif\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/05\/JAXA-Venus-copy-02ab05e.jpg\")