Venus

Basic Facts 2 nd planet from Sun 6 th largest planet (bigger than Mars, Mercury and Pluto)

Basic Facts cont…. Diameter of planet: 7,520 miles 0.72 Astronomical Units 66,000,000 miles from Sun Named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty (Greek= Aphrodite)

Appearance/Surface Features Surrounded by a thick layer of clouds Intense atmospheric pressure (90x Earth)

Surface Features cont… “Rain” falls from clouds but never reaches the ground (evaporates about 10 miles up) Same basic land features as Earth, but dry (no water) Occasional volcanic activity Extremely high temperatures (hottest in SS) –Average of 900° F Most solids on Earth would be liquid on Venus!!

Behavior Retrograde Rotation (clockwise) –Sun rises in the west and sets in the east –Time between sun rise and set is 117 Earth days. Rotation= 243 Earth Days Revolution= 224 Earth Days Day is longer than a year

Miscellaneous Photographed in 1975—Mariner 10 and 2004 with Messenger BepiColombo scheduled to launch for Venus in 2017 Prototype plans in the works for a manned Venus mission. No satellites Called Earth’s “evil” twin –Almost the same diameter, mass and density

Miscellaneous cont…. Brightest object in the early night sky