Facts about Venus

As the second planet to the Sun in the solar system, it is a closest neighbor to the Earth. Known commonly as Morning or Evening star, Venus appears in the sky just before sun rise or just after sun set. It is brighter than stars and can be seen in broad daylight also. It is called an inferior planet in that it is closer to the sun than the Earth. The planet is named after the roman goddess of love and beauty.

Many space missions sent by both USA and USSR have given more details about the planet. Some of the space missions are still in the orbit round the planet. Many interesting features and facts about the planet have been revealed by the studies made out of the different missions. This is an attempt to see the overall view of the researches made so far.

Physical Characters
Just like the Earth, Venus has silicon rock on its surface. Because of that, it is called a Terrestrial planet and considered to be a sister planet of the Earth. Though it is similar to the Earth in size and composition, it has dense atmosphere mainly consisting of Carbon dioxide. For this very reason, the possibility of organic life in the planet is very remote.

Its atmosphere has clouds of sulfuric acid, which reflects the sunrays. This makes the atmosphere difficult to observe from the space in visible light. It is so hot that the ocean-like water bodies have been completely evaporated. The rich carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the sulfur dioxide clouds are responsible for the high temperature on the surface. The Venus’s hot surface is hotter than the Mercury’s even though it is twice as much distant as the Mercury from the sun. The atmospheric pressure of the Venus is more than 90 times of the Earth.

Venus and the Earth
The Venus has a diameter of 95% of the Earth, just 650 km less than the Earth. Compared to Earth it is less in weight, having 81.55 of the Earth’s mass. Its surface area is about 90% of the Earth’s. The Venus has an axial tilt of 2.64 degrees. The orbital period of Venus is 224.7 days. The winds on the top of the clouds are very strong but the same of the surface of the Venus is very low, a few kilometers speed. . Volcanic plains occupy the major surface area of the Mars. It has been estimated that it has about 167 giant volcanoes of 100km across. The clouds have no water vapour. The surface of Venus has high Mountains of volcanic nature, rift valleys and meteor craters.

In many physical aspects it resembles the Earth and is called sister planet of the Earth, in many aspects it differs from the Earth. Unlike the Earth, it has a slow rotational period around the Sun. There is no satellite for Venus. The extremely weak magnetic field, lack of water and high surface temperature and dense atmosphere are some of the points where the planet differs from the Earth.

Greenhouse effect
The carbon dioxide and the water vapour are called greenhouse gases. They have the property of absorbing the infrared radiation emitted by the sunlight falling on the surface of the Venus. The absorption results in the high temperature of the surface. This effect is called greenhouse effect. All planets have this effect and this effect is responsible for the planet to be warmer or otherwise.

The effect is called runaway greenhouse effect if the temperature created reaches the boiling point of water that would make the ocean to boil, which will produce further water vapour. The newly produced water vapour increases the effect of greenhouse, which will again increase the temperature.

Impact crater
It is a depression formed by a high velocity object on the surface of any planet. It may be of any shape and size. Meteor crater is one example of impact crater our planet has. The surface of the Venus has many such Impact craters, which offer many information about the planet.

Current mission
Russian Federal Space Agency’s successful space shuttle called the Venus Express was positioned in the Venus’s orbit on 11th April 2006. It is undertaking a detailed study of Venus. The probe will last for 500 earth days or two Venusians years. Its first result has already been published as to the existence of atmospheric vortex at the south pole of the planet. Other countries like US and Japan have planned future expedition to Venus.

The planet Venus has many historic connections with the people of various countries. Its brightness has fascinated many. Not only the scientific world but also the common people are curiously awaiting the facts about this planet that future missions may throw to the mankind.