Venus is the goddess of love and beauty, worshiped by the ancient Romans, as well as the planet, which is practically well visible in the starry sky almost every night. Although the planet Venus is considered a twin of the Earth, because it is most similar in size and mass to the planet, it should not be forgotten that Venus is extremely aggressive for human’s atmosphere, terrible acid rain, extreme heat, constant volcanic eruptions, and strong winds prevail.
1. Venus is not the only planet in space that was named after the Roman deity, as we mentioned, Venus was the goddess of love and beauty in ancient Rome, but it is the only planet that was named after a female.
2. According to scientists, the diameter of Venus is 12104 km. It is only 638 km smaller than Earth’s diameter.
3. Carbon dioxide (about 96.5%) prevails in the atmosphere of Venus and its high concentration causes a greenhouse effect. The sun radiates the surface of Venus to an average temperature of 864 F.
4. Venus has a very weak magnetic field and is therefore completely unprotected by bombarding charged solar particles. Due to the absence of a magnetic field, Venus lost all the water in the early stages of planet formation.
5. If the atmosphere and magnetic field on Venus were the same as on Earth, then the average temperature on the planet would be 26-27°C (on Earth 15°C).
6. The atmosphere on the planet is 90 times denser than on Earth. The high pressure on the surface of Venus formed very dense clouds, which in turn create thunderstorms and lightning thousands of times more powerful than on Earth.
7. Even if we can observe this beautiful and unusual planet with the naked eye, the Earth and even the Sun are not visible from Venus. Its sky is completely covered by thick clouds of sulfuric acid.
8. Thanks to radar images, it has been found that there are more volcanoes on the surface of Venus than on any other planet in the solar system – more than 1650. The Venus landscape is dominated by mountains and volcanic lava plains.
9. Since there are no seas or oceans on Venus, scientists are beginning to count altitude from the average surface elevation. The highest mountain system on Venus is the Maxwell Mountains, which were formed as a result of tectonic deformation. Today it is not known which of the peaks of the mountain system is highest because the difference in their altitudes is insignificant and the radar data have some inaccuracies, but it is known that the mountains of Maxwell rise 10-11 km above the average surface elevation of the planet and 6-7 km above their surroundings, well above the Everest.
10. It is at the summit of the Maxwell Mountains the coldest place on Venus, the temperature here is 80-100°C lower than the average level of the planet’s surface, but even here it is extremely hot and the average temperature is about 380°C. Atmospheric pressure at the tops is also twice lower than at the average surface level, but still 45 times higher than at the Earth’s surface.
11. The second-highest mountains on Venus after Maxwell is Maat Mons, which is the highest volcano on the planet. Maat stands almost 5 km above the surrounding countryside and more than 8 km above the average surface of Venus. Today, no volcanic activity has been recorded on Mount Maat, but there are indications that eruptions have occurred recently.
12. Most planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, and only Venus and Uranus rotate clockwise.
13. Venus has an almost circular orbit and as a result, unlike Earth, it practically does not change the distance from the sun.
14. Venus Day is approximately 243 Earth Days. Venus orbits the Sun longer than to rotate about its own axis, a day on Venus longer than a year.
15. In Venus, it is very windy, in the middle of the cloud layers wind speeds reach 700 km/hour.
16. According to scientists, after about 5 billion years, the sun will deplete its supply of hydrogen and helium and will become a red giant that absorb Mercury and Venus, possibly even the Earth.
17. If you were able to scream on the surface of Venus, your voice would sound much lower and deeper, as the voices would vibrate more slowly in its dense atmosphere.
18. More than four hundred years ago, Galileo Galilei noted the Venus phases changes with the help of a telescope. Since then, the planet has not become less interesting in the scientific world. For the study of Venus on its surface from 1966 to 1985 landed 19 interplanetary stations through which, in addition to physicochemical and meteorological indicators, managed to transmit photos of landscapes and even record the sound of thunder.
19. The total weight of all artificial objects on Venus (all devices that have reached its surface) is more than 22 tons.
20. Due to extremely aggressive environmental conditions on the planet, no device on its surface worked for more than two hours. The Venera 13 station lasted 127 minutes.
