NASA image of Venus showing its thick cloud cover and bright reflection the so-called Morning Star (Photo: NASA)
Among the planets orbiting our Sun, Venus stands out for its uncanny resemblance to Earth. Roughly the same size, mass and structure, Venus is often called Earth's twin planet. Both are rocky worlds with metallic cores and dense mantles, formed from similar cosmic materials though they both share these structural traits, their environments could not be more different.
Venus is an incredibly hot, hostile inferno wrapped in thick clouds of carbon dioxide, making it the hottest planet in our solar system.
Venus and Earth are close in size where Earth's diameter is about 12,742 km while Venus is 12,104 km. They also belong to the terrestrial planet family since they have a solid crust rather than swirling gases. Their internal layers are almost identical, with molten cores and rocky mantles.
That striking similarity once led scientists to believe that maybe Venus could host conditions suitable for life. Decades of space exploration have come up with a far harsher truth Venus is anything but habitable.
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Beneath the beauty of Venus lies a truly brutal reality is an extremely thick atmosphere, almost completely composed of carbon dioxide, traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect. The result is a scorching hot surface temperature as high as nearly 465°C-hot enough to melt lead.
The pressure of the planet's air is about 90 times that of Earth's, corresponding to almost a kilometer of water. To add to the unusual nature of this world, Venus rotates backward its rotation is retrograde meaning the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Venus remains arguably one of the most breathtaking vistas in our sky. Sometimes known as the Morning Star or Evening Star, it is brighter than any other planet by far due to sunlight reflecting off its thick cloud cover. Its brightness alone allows it to be seen by the naked eye during dawn and dusk, making it a feature of myth and poetry for many millennia.
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Venus provides a haunting preview of what can happen when a planet's climate spirals out of control. The atmosphere, although filled with carbon dioxide, serves as a grim reminder of what an uncurbed greenhouse effect can wreak on a planet.
By studying Venus, scientists gain insight into Earth's own future and the importance of balancing our planet's climate. Venus is Earth's fiery twin, is not just a scientific marvel and it's a warning written across the heavens.
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Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Facts are based on verified scientific sources and space research data.
