Fun Venus Facts

Learning some Venus facts will help you realize what an amazing place our solar system is. Even though Venus is the closest planet to Earth, it's atmoshphere is radically different. Nothing that lives on Earth could survive on Venus, which is why we spend more time studying Mars.

• Venus is about the same size as the Earth. It is only 650 km smaller than Earth. Its mass is 81.5 percent of the Earth's mass.
• The atmosphere of Venus contains 96.5 percent carbon dioxide. Temperatures on Venus rise up to 461 degrees Celsius.
• In the night sky, only the moon and the sun are brighter than Venus.
• Venus' gravity is about 90% of the pull of gravity on Earth, so gravity itself would feel about the same. However, Venus' atmosphere produces 90 times more pressure than we have on Earth. If you were to land on Venus and try to walk on the planet, you would be crushed by the pressure.
• Thick storm clouds of sulfur dioxide rain sulfuric acid on the planet.
• Venus' orbit is backwards. It turns in a clockwise direction. All of the other planets rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. It also rotates slowly. One day on Venus equals 243 days on Earth.
• Venus has no moons.
• Venus has phases similar to moon phases. When you look at it through a telescope and it is closer to the Earth, you will only see a sliver. The farther away from Earth Venus gets, the more it looks like a round planet.
• The Venus Express spacecraft was designed to withstand the massive pressure on Venus. It got to Venus on April 11, 2006. It is currently doing a detailed study of the planet's atmosphere and clouds. The Venus Express will also map the plasma environment and the surface of Venus.
• There are very few impact craters on Venus. Mars, the Moon and Mercury are full of impact craters.
• Scientists think that Venus is only a half a billion years old. Scientists believe the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, or 9 times older than Venus.