|
Diameter/km
Mass/kg
mean density kg/m
Volume/km^3
Surface gravity
Escape velocity
Axial rotation period/h
Axial inclination
Distance from Sun
eccentricity of orbit
Orbital period/days |
12104
4.87e+24
5.24e+3
92.84e+10
8.87
10.36km/s
243.02
177.36³
108.21e+6
0.0067
224.70 |
Venus spins more slowly on its axis than any other planet, once every 243 days, in a direction opposite to that of the Earth, from east to west.
Venus is often mistaken as a star as it shines so bright. The reason for this is because Venus has a massive atmosphere consisting almost entirely of carbon dioxide (95%) topped with clouds composed of droplets of sulphuric acid. Carbon dioxide is well known from Earth as a green house gas and because Venus is full of it, it is a reminder of the devastating effect global warming can have. On Venus the atmosphere blocks most of the sun light causing most to reflect off into space making it appear to shine. On its surface the atmosphere seals a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius making it the hottest place in the solar system. Dust and ice crystals fuse together into yellowish smog through which only occasionally a pale sunlight filters, making the rocks glow red. The atmosphere presses down at the surface with a force of 90 times that of the Earths atmosphere.
It is impossible to colonize Venus unless big changes to the planet are made. Scientists believe that the only way to make Venus habitable is to remove its massive atmosphere. The first idea is to remove it by launching H-Bombs which are 100's of times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Such bombs could cause some of Venus's atmosphere to be blown away into space but there are problems, these include waiting for the radioactive material to decay to a safe level which could be about 400 years, or they could send machines that work on nuclear energy to convert the carbon dioxide into oxygen, like plants.
