| Venus has a size similar to the Earth and it is known as Earth's sister planet. Its diameter is only 650 kilometers less than the Earth. It is the second closest planet to the Sun and it is 40 million kilometers away from Earth. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Venus is covered with a layer of sulphur cloud 50 to 70 kilometers thick. The gas existing under the sulphur clouds are mostly carbon dioxide. Under the green house effect, the temperature on Venus can reach to 464oC. The wind speed at ground level is moderate while clouds circle Venus in only 4 Earth days, travelling several hundred kilometers per hour. It is covered with craters and giant calderas. It has vast plains covered by lava flows and mountain or highland regions deformed by geological activity. Maxwell Montes in Ishtar Terra is the highest peak on Venus, which is about 11km in height. |
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Venus Statistics:
Mass (kg): 4.87x1024 Diameter (km): 12104 Average Density (kg/m3): 5250 Escape Velocity (m/sec):10400 Rotation Period (Earth days): 243.0 Tilt of Axis (o): 178 Orbit inclination (o): 3.39 Average Surface Temperature (oF): 864 Atmospheric Components: 96% Carbon dioxide, 3% Nitrogen, 0.1% Water vapor Number of Satellites: 0 Number of Rings: 0 |
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