VENUS

V e N U s

Venus is a rocky planet and the second  planet from the Sun. Venus spins slowly back wards as it orbits the sun, causing its rotation period to be the longest in the solar system, about 234 Earth days. It is slightly smaller than Earth and probably has a similar internal structure, consisting of a semi-solid metal core , surrounded by a rocky mantle and crust. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and Moon because its atmosphere reflects sunlight strongly. The main component of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which traps heat in a green house effect far stronger than that on Earth. As a result, Venus is the hottest planet, with a maximum surface temperature of about  480°C. The thick cloud layers contain droplets of sulphuric acid and are driven around the planet by wind at speed of up to 360 kilometer per hour. Although the planet takes 243 Earth days to rotate once, the high speed winds cause the clouds to circle the planet in only four days. The high temperature, acidic clouds and enormous atmospheric pressure (about 90 times greater at the surface than that on Earth) make the environment extremely hostile. However, space probes have managed to land on Venus and photograph its dry, dusty surface. The Venusian surface has also been mapped by probes with radar equipment that can see through the cloud layers. Such radar maps reveal a terrain with craters, mountains, volcanoes and ares where craters have been covered by plains of solidified volcanic lava. There are two large high land regions called Aphrodite Terra and Ishtar Terra.



TILT AND ROTATION OF VENUS