Venus

[Joseph Buell]

If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, the Earth and Venus would each be about the size of a nickel.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

Venus orbits our Sun, a star. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun at a distance of about 67 million miles (108 million km).

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

One day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days because Venus spins backwards, with its sun rising in the west and setting in the east.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

Venus' solid surface is a volcanic landscape covered with extensive plains featuring high volcanic mountains and vast ridged plateaus.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

Venus has no moons and no rings.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

The planet’s surface temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius)—hot enough to melt lead.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

Many scientists believe water once existed on the surface. Future Venus explorers will search for evidence of an ancient ocean.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

More than 40 spacecraft have explored Venus. The ‘90s Magellan mission mapped the planet's surface and Akatsuki is currently orbiting Venus.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

Venus’ extreme temperatures and acidic clouds make it an unlikely place for life as we know it.

Source: NASA

[Joseph Buell]

While the surface rotates slowly, the winds blow at hurricane force, sending clouds completely around the planet every five days.

Source: NASA

[Forrest White]

Traces of phosphine have been found in the atmosphere of Venus. It is a potential biomarker https://bit.ly/3wHXTWg

[Charlotte Bridgestone]

Venus' solid surface is a volcanic landscape covered with extensive plains featuring high volcanic mountains and vast ridged plateaus.

Source: NASA

And the highest mountain on Venus, Maxwell Montes, is about 20,000 feet high (8.8 kilometers), similar to the highest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest.

There is no water on the planet, but it rains, entirely consisting of sulfuric acid. Still rain never reaches the planet's surface and evaporate from the heat, forming a phenomenon known as the virga.

[Charlotte Bridgestone]

And 1 more interesting fact about Venus is that it is often mistaken for a UFO. The planet is so bright that after sunset it can be observed even in gloomy weather. Venus appears in the sky before the stars, and passing clouds sometimes create the illusion of a bright cosmic body moving across the sky.