| You are here: | About>Education>Space / Astronomy |
 | Space / Astronomy |
|
click for more images  Venus - Second Planet From the Sun NASA Related resources to Venus InformationVenus - Earth's Sister - Second Planet
Venus whose Greek equivalent was Aphrodite was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It probably got its name from being the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. At one time, it was thought to be two separate bodies: the morning star (Eosphorus) and the evening star (Hesperus). It is the second planet from the Sun and the sixth largest.
On the surface of Venus, the atmospheric pressure is 90 atmospheres. It is composed mostly of carbon dioxide. The surface of the planet is obscured by several layers of clouds many kilometers thick composed of sulfuric acid. This creates a greenhouse effect that brings Venus' surface temperature to over 740 K. Venus has been called Earth’s sister planet, since it’s fairly close in size (95%), has a density and chemical composition, and has few craters, indicating a similar young age. This led many to believe that there might even be life hidden under the thick layer of clouds. This has since been proven to be impossible. There are no known satellites of Venus, but between the 1670s and the 1770s, there were several observations of what appeared to be a satellite approximately ¼ the size of Venus. Many theories exist to explain these sightings as well as one in 1892 by E. E. Barnard, including optical illusions, stars, and even a tenth planet, but recent observations have not revealed any satellite. Related resources to Venus Information |
|
All Topics | Email Article | |  |  |
| Advertising Info | News & Events | Work at About | SiteMap | Reprints | Help | Our Story | Be a Guide |
| User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | ©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved. |