1. VENUS

2. The Planet Venus is the second closest planet to the sun
The Planet Venus is the second closest planet to the sun. It is located between our Earth and Mercury. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

3. Diameter: 12,100 km. (a little smaller than Earth, but not much.)
Temperature: 900°F (+/- 50°F) at the surface!
This makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system.

4. Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide (95%), nitrogen, sulfuric acid, and traces of other elements

5. Surface: Rocky, dusty, waterless. Mountains, canyons, and plains
Surface: Rocky, dusty, waterless. Mountains, canyons, and plains. A 200-mile long river of hardened lava was observed.

6. Venus' orbit is the most nearly circular of that of any planet, with an eccentricity of less than 1%.

7. Venus appears as the brightest object in our sky after the Sun and the Moon.

8. Galileo observed that Venus shows phases (like our Moon) when viewed from Earth.

9. Observing phases was important in proving the Heliocentric model of our Solar System. (Sun at Center)
(Phases can only appear if Venus revolves around the Sun closer than we do!)

11. Venus has been visited by over 20 spacecraft.
In 1970, the Soviets landed Venera 7 on the surface of Venus, this was the first spacecraft to ever land on another planet.
-But the parachute failed and it crash landed.
-The only data returned from the surface was a temperature of reading of 887 °F

12. Venera 14 (Russian) was more successful… (here are the first pictures of Venus…. taken from it’s surface!)

13. Venus rotates VERY slowly… 243 days to spin one time.
It’s day is longer than it’s year.
(1 Revolution only takes 224 days)

14. Venus also spins upside down.
This is probably due to a glancing collision billions of years ago that “flipped it over”.

15. Venus is often called our sister planet.
This is due to it’s similar size, composition, mass, and the presence of an atmosphere.
It is also the closest planet to Earth.

16. At one time, astronomers were excited and thought Venus would support life!
Further studies showed it is probably the least hospitable place in the entire solar system.

17. Pictures of the surface of Venus are a lie
Pictures of the surface of Venus are a lie. Computers suggest what it might look like based on radar measurements.
We cannot really see the surface, the clouds are just too thick.

18. Venus probably once had large amounts of water but it all boiled away.

19. The thick atmosphere traps in heat (greenhouse effect) to the extent that Venus’ surface temps are hot enough to melt lead!
This makes it hotter than Mercury even though it is nearly twice as far from the Sun.

20. No small craters are found on the Venusian surface
No small craters are found on the Venusian surface. Meteorites burn up in the thick atmosphere.

21. Venus has no magnetic field.
(We would die quickly from radiation)
Venus has no satellites (Moons).

22. In 2012, Venus passed directly between Earth and the Sun.
The dark side of Venus appeared as a small black dot as it crossed the Sun. This is called a Transit. Will happen again in 2117.

23. Surface; taken by Venera 13

24. Could we live there? Not on the surface.
BUT… 50 miles above the surface, the temp and atmosphere are similar to Earth's surface!
Protect yourself from the radiation, and a "floating city" 50 miles above the Venusian surface could work!