Size: about the same as the Earth; 12,104km in diameter
Weight: Slightly lighter than Earth; 4,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Temperature: Very much higher than the Earth; 460 degrees Celsius!
Density: Heavier than water, 5.2 g/cm3
Composition: Rocks and metals
Satellite: No satellite
Recent exploration missions: Venus express by ESA (2006-2015); Akatsuki by JAXA (2010-)
Something curious about Venus
1. Shining brightly!
Looking up from Earth, Venus is the third brightest star following the Sun and Earth’s moon. In Japan, we call Venus “Dawn Star” when it appears in the eastern sky at dawn, and “Evening Star” when it appears in the western sky in the evening. There are several reasons to explain why Venus is so bright. First, Venus is as big as the Earth and close to the Sun, so it gets a lot of sunlight. Second, Venus is surrounded by clouds that strongly reflect sunlight. Finally, Venus is closer to the Earth than Mercury or Jupiter.
2. What will Venus be like in the end?
Venus was formed 4.6 billion years ago, almost the same as our Sun. Thus, it is 4.6 billion years old, and thus, the surface of Venus today is different from when it was made. Venus has many volcanic features and is curved by cracks due to large forces pulling on it. In addition, most of the surface was covered by high-temperature lava flows several hundred million years ago, which almost reset the surface age.
3. Very beautiful but a bit scary!
The atmosphere of Venus is composed mostly of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is very good at storing heat, so the temperature of Venus can reach more than 450℃. You cannot make boiling water on Venus because water cannot stay as a liquid at this temperature anymore. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is 90 times stronger than that on Earth, so if you were to build a house, it would have to be very sturdy or crushed by the atmosphere alone! Therefore, it is highly unlikely that we would be able to live on Venus.
Checklist
- Humans can live there (Yes or No): No…too hot!
- Humans can breathe there (Yes or No): No, no oxygen
- Humans can walk on the surface there (Yes or No): Yes or No, solid surface exists but perhaps too hot
- The temperature of its surface is (Hot or Cold): Hot!
- It is a (sinking or floating) object: Sinking
- Water exists there (Yes or No): No, not at all!