When you contemplate the night sky, the first question that comes to your mind must be what is in outer space? How did you find the Milky Way? Then you wonder about the planets of the solar system, how were they formed and what are the differences between one planet and another?
Of course, the planet Earth, Mars and Jupiter take a large part of your thinking, but in fact you should focus your attention on the planet Venus, which will amaze you with its strangeness and wonders, and you will discover about it what you did not expect.
Venus is the second planet from the solar system in terms of distance from the sun after Mercury and the sixth largest planet in the Milky Way. More spherical than the Earth, due to its slow rotation. Scientists believe that the average age of the planet ranges between 150 million years and less than one billion years, which is considered relatively young compared to the planet Earth, which exceeds 4.54 billion years.
The first person to discover the planet Venus
The discovery of the existence of this planet dates back to 3000 BC, when the Babylonians were able to see its brightness and observe it, but the first to give it a name were the Greeks who were able to spot it in the early morning, as it is always located in the direction where the sun is, which makes it difficult to see it from the planet Earth except Immediately before sunrise or shortly after sunset, until the first scientist who was able to observe and follow the planet Venus in all its phases and transformations, the Italian Galileo Galilei in 1610, and is considered the first to improve the telescope from the development of explanations about Venus and other planets.
Interesting natural properties of Venus
This planet consisting of two continents, the first is called Ishtar High, is located in the north, and the second is called Aphrodite, is located in the south. Both names symbolize the gods of love and beauty, because there are no moons revolving around it, because researchers believe that it was subjected to a sharp collision earlier that led to the loss of its moons.
The radius of Venus is approximately 6052 km, that is, it is smaller than the radius of the Earth by 5%, its volume is about 928 billion cubic km and it is about 40 million km away from the globe. Although it is smaller than the Earth, its pressure is ninety times greater than the pressure at the Earth’s surface and is approximately equal to a depth of half a mile from sea level.
As for the wind, its speed is estimated at about 724 kilometers per hour, which makes it stronger than the most powerful hurricane that has ever passed our land.
The results of the strange rotation of Venus
Here is another strange fact that reveals the planet Venus, its slow rotation around itself made its day longer than its year, as a day on the surface of Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days, while its year is equal to about 224.7 days compared to the Earth, but what is more suspicious is that this planet is as it is The case with the planet Uranus rotates on its axis in the opposite way to the rotation of the rest of the planets on its axis, so here is its sun rising from the west and setting from the east.
The volcanoes of Venus are countless
If we suppose that the earth has the same number of volcanoes as on the surface of Venus, the world would have peace, as the number of volcanoes in it is about 1,600, and it is what has been discovered so far and what is hidden is greater.
Venus shines even on the darkest nights
If you look closely at night, you must see a nearby bright star, and that is certainly Venus, the second clearest planet for Earth after the moon, and this is because it is very bright, as its brightness resulting from the reflection of a large amount of sunlight from it is between (3.8-4.8) However, all this luster did not find anything, as it remained impossible to see it from outer space due to the presence of thick and dense clouds covering the atmosphere.
The other face of the earth
Since ancient times, the planet Venus has been called Earth’s twin or sister, due to the convergence of the two planets in size, and they are similar in geological composition and atmosphere, but the atmosphere of Venus is hotter because it consists of carbon dioxide, and its temperature may reach about 470 degrees Celsius, as well as the Both planets have a lot of clouds in their atmosphere, but the clouds surrounding Venus consist of sulfuric acid with a foul smell that resembles the smell of rotten eggs and begins to exist between (43-28) miles, and the pressure and density at a height of 50 km is similar to the pressure and density on the surface Earth.
Differences that changed the face of Venus
Since Venus was formed, it lacks the succession and diversity of seasons, as a result of the inclination of its axis not affecting climatic changes on the planet. Thermal temperature caused it to become the hottest planet ever.
The strange phenomenon of crossing
Or as it is called the transit of Venus, and it is an astronomical phenomenon that results from the passage of Venus between the Sun and the Earth, so Venus appears as if it is a black spot that crosses the Sun in broad daylight.
Reaching the surface of Venus
Perhaps the most limited collection of information about this planet is the inability of spacecraft to penetrate the hot planet’s atmosphere because of the pressure that can crush any vehicle, no matter how hard, and the high heat is able to melt even the most heat-resistant metals, but the Mariner spacecraft For “NASA” was able to approach the surface of the planet to be the first spacecraft that can achieve this in the year 1962.
Comparison of the two sisters (Venus and Earth)
This table shows the most important differences between our planet and Venus:
|
properties |
Flower |
Earth |
|
Wind speed |
724 km |
408 km |
|
radius |
6052 km |
6,371 km |
|
the size |
928 billion cubic km |
1 trillion cubic km |
|
distance from the sun |
108 million km |
150 million km |
|
orbital velocity |
35.02 thousand km |
107 thousand km |
|
age of the planet |
Less than a billion years old |
4.54 billion years |
|
number of continents |
2 |
7 |
|
moons |
There is no |
1 |
|
the pressure |
93 times |
1 time |
|
magnetic field strength |
0 |
0.3 gauss |
|
rotating side |
clockwise |
counter clockwise |
|
Number of days of the year |
224.7 |
365 and a quarter days |
|
Number of active volcanoes |
1600 |
600 |
|
atmospheric temperature |
470 |
600 degrees at 200 km |
The discovery of outer space has always been one of the dreams of mankind, they have carried out many missions to discover the mysteries of other planets and know the limits of our solar system, and perhaps reaching Venus was the most complex of these processes and the dream is still continuing to find alternative solutions that call for human stability, whether on the surface of the Earth or in outer space .