Astronomers consider Venus the hell of the Solar System. Clouds composed of acid cover its surface, where the temperature is so high to melt the lead. The atmosphere is so heavy that it could crush a man in a few seconds.
Venus rotates in an opposite direction in comparison with Earth (the Sun, therefore, rises west and sets east) and very slowly: actually it takes 243 Earth days to complete a whole rotation so its "day" is longer than its year (225 Earth days).
Its clouds are so thick that the sunlight is not able to reach the planet surface: they reflect it and make Venus the brighter object in the night sky after the Moon.
Its clouds are composed of sulphuric acid droplets. Violent winds drive the clouds round the planet and produce whirls at their top.| Equatoria diameter | 12104 km |
| Polar diameter | 12104 km |
| Rotational period | 243.02 days |
| Mass (Earth=1) | 0.815 |
| Mean density (water=1) | 5.24 g/cm3 |
| Gravitational velocity | 8.6m/s2 |
| Tilt of axis | -177.3° |
| Maximum surface temperature | +482°C |
| Minimum surface temperature | -146°C |
| Albedo (100% reflection=1) | 0.65 |
| Number of satellites | none |
| Orbital period | 224.70 days |
| Mean distance from the Sun | 0.72 AU |
| Orbital eccentricity | 0.007 |
| Orbital inclination | 3.4° |
On the contrary Venus
is not as it looks
under the clouds
it is terribly hot
it glitters so close
so close to Earth
and under the clouds
the greenhouse effect
| Choose the language | Welcome | Home | Works |