Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Venus

It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit of the Sun. That’s 243 Earth days to rotate once – the longest rotation of any planet in the Solar System – and only 224.7 Earth days to complete an orbit of the Sun.

Next

Its mean temperature is 462°C. This is because of the high concentration of carbon dioxide in Venus’ atmosphere, which works to produce an intense greenhouse effect. Heat is trapped in the atmosphere like a blanket, causing the temperature of the planet to be much higher than its proximity to the Sun would suggest.

Next

Almost all planets in the Solar System spin anti-clockwise on their axis and orbit the Sun in an anti-clockwise direction. Venus also orbits the Sun anti-clockwise but spins clockwise on its axis. One theory for this unusual rotation is that it was knocked off its upright position earlier in its history!

Next

Walking around Venus would be an unbearable experience for several reasons, but one of them is the extreme pressures on the surface. The atmosphere creates air pressure that is over 90 times the air pressure on Earth, which is similar to the pressure around 0.6 miles (one kilometer) deep in the ocean.  

Next

Venus also has the most volcanoes present on the surface of all planets in the solar system. However, Venus has over 1,600 known major volcanoes, and that’s not including the smaller ones or any that haven’t been detected yet.

Next