Brief description of Venus. Planet Venus - general characteristics and interesting facts. Periods of rotation and circulation, change of seasons

Venus is the second planet of the solar system. Belongs to the planets terrestrial group, that is, it is a solid space body. And since it is solid, then its surface should be dotted with mountains, plateaus, hills and lowlands. This is indeed the case. However, all data concerning the geology of Venus were obtained not by direct observations, but by means of radar images, which does not in the least detract from their authenticity. The human eye is powerless to see anything, since the surface of Venus is covered with a dense cap of acid clouds.

So, what are we regularly told? space stations on duty around the second planet. Most of its surface appears to have been formed by volcanic activity. At the same time, it is extremely active, since there are several times more volcanoes on Venus than on Earth. Of these, 167 are characterized as large. On a par with them on the blue planet, only the Big Island of Hawaii can stand.

There is an assumption that volcanic activity on the second planet continues to this day. This is indicated by lightning detected in the atmosphere. One of the theories of their occurrence claims that they are formed as a result of volcanic eruptions.

There is more evidence. It concerns changes in the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. In the period from 1978 to 1986, it decreased 10 times, and in 2006 it increased 10 times. It can be assumed that the increase in concentration was associated with massive volcanic eruptions.

In 2008-2009. localized infrared hot spots have been discovered near existing volcanoes. Experts have suggested that this is volcanic lava, which appeared as a result of recent volcanic eruptions. The approximate temperature of these points was 600-800 degrees Celsius, and the relative normal temperature is 467 degrees Celsius.

Nearly 1,000 impact craters are distributed evenly across the surface of Venus. Moreover, 85% of the craters are in their pristine state. This suggests that the planet's crust underwent global transformations 300-600 million years ago. Hence the conclusion suggests itself: the Venusian crust is not in continuous motion, like the crust of the Earth.

The latter, using plate tectonics, dissipates heat from the mantle, and Venus does not. Instead, a cyclical process is observed on it, in which the temperature of the mantle rises and reaches a critical value, weakening the crust. Then, for about 100 million years, the process of complete reworking of the crust (subduction) is observed. At the same time, the relief of Venus's surface changes globally, and old craters disappear.

Impact craters on the second planet have diameters from 3 to 280 km. There are no craters with smaller diameters. This is due to the dense atmosphere. Small cosmic bodies with a diameter of less than 50 meters slow down in the upper atmosphere, fragment and burn before reaching the surface.

Nowadays, the surface of Venus is characterized by a small height difference. This value does not exceed 13 km. This is not enough, since on Earth the same indicator is approximately 20 km. On the second planet, the interval of heights with a spread of 500 meters occupies at least 50% of the entire surface area. That is, it has a mostly flat character. At the same time, some parts of the terrain are tilted up to 45 degrees. Most of the planet (75%) is rocky soil, not covered with sedimentary rocks.

Uplands account for 10% of the surface area. They are volcanic plateaus with a height exceeding 2 km from the average distance to the center of the planet. The most significant plateaus are the land of Aphrodite, Lada, Ishtar. The latter rises 3-5 km above the average level and has its own mountain system - Maxwell. Its height is 10-11 km higher than the average level of the planet, and a mountain range rises 6-7 km above the surrounding area. Ishtar is the size of Australia. In addition to these, there are other smaller plateaus.

Plains account for 50% of the surface of Venus. Their height relative to the average distance is 0-2 km. The entire remaining surface area is occupied by lowlands. They are located below the zero height. They represent an even soil cover without ravines and rocky ledges.

Thus, the surface of Venus reflects the results of those geological processes, which prevail on the planet for the last 300-600 million years. They are characterized by high volcanic activity and the influence of cosmic forces. The second planet is not suitable for life, but its relief corresponds to an ideal place to live. But the carbon dioxide environment, high atmospheric pressure and other negative factors completely sweep away the dreams of life on Venus..

Vladislav Ivanov

Venus is the second planet in the solar system with an orbital period of 224.7 Earth days. It is named after the Roman goddess of love. The planet is one of all, which has received the name of a female deity. In terms of brightness, it is the third object in the sky after the Moon and the Sun. Since Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth, it never moves away from it more than 47.8 degrees. It is best viewed before sunrise or a little after sunset. This fact gave reason to call it the Evening or Morning Star. Sometimes the planet is called the sister of the Earth. They are both similar in size, composition, and gravity. But the conditions are very different.

The surface of Venus is hidden by thick clouds of sulfuric acid, which makes it difficult to see its surface in visible light. The planet's atmosphere is transparent to radio waves. With their help, the relief of Venus was explored. The debate continued for a long time about what is under the clouds of the planet. But many secrets have been revealed by planetary science. Venus has the densest atmosphere of any earth-like planet. It mainly consists of carbon dioxide. This is explained by the fact that there is no life and no carbon cycle. It is believed that in ancient times the planet became very hot. This led to the fact that all the oceans that existed here evaporated. They left behind a desert landscape with a large number of plate-like rocks. It is assumed that due to the weak magnetic field water vapor was carried away into interplanetary space by the solar wind. Scientists have found that even now the atmosphere of Venus is losing oxygen and hydrogen in a ratio of 1: 2. Atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of Earth. Over the past 22 years, the Magellan project has been mapping the planet.

The atmosphere of Venus contains a lot of sulfur, and the surface shows signs of volcanic activity. Some scholars argue that this activity continues to this day. There is no exact evidence for this, because lava flows have not been seen in any of the depressions. The small number of craters suggests that the planet's surface is young: it is about 500 million years old. Also, no evidence of tectonic plate movement was found here. Due to the lack of water, the planet's lithosphere is very viscous. It is assumed that the planet is gradually losing its high internal temperature.

Basic information

The distance to the Sun is 108 million kilometers. The distance to the Earth varies from 40 to 259 million kilometers. The planet's orbit is close to circular. It revolves around the Sun in 224.7 days, and the speed of rotation around the orbit is 35 km per second. To the plane of the ecliptic, the inclination of the orbit is 3.4 degrees. Venus rotates around its axis from east to west. This direction is opposite to the rotation of most of the planets. One revolution takes 243.02 Earth days. Accordingly, solar days on the planet are equal to 116.8 Earth days. In relation to the Earth, Venus makes one revolution around its axis in 146 days. The synodic period is exactly 4 times longer and is 584 days. As a result, the planet is facing the Earth with one side in each lower conjunction. It is not yet clear whether this is a simple coincidence or the gravitational attraction of Venus and the Earth is acting. The dimensions of the planet are close to the terrestrial ones. The radius of Venus is 95% of the radius of the Earth (6051.8 kilometers), the mass is 81.5% of the Earth's (4.87 · 10 24 kilograms), and the average density is 5.24 g / cm³.

Atmosphere of the planet

The atmosphere was discovered by Lomonosov at a time when the planet passed along the disk of the Sun in 1761. It is mainly composed of nitrogen (4%) and carbon dioxide (96%). It contains trace amounts of oxygen and water vapor. Also, the atmosphere of Venus contains 105 times more gas than the atmosphere of the Earth. The temperature is 475 degrees, and the pressure reaches 93 atm. Venus' temperature exceeds Mercury, which is 2 times closer to the Sun. There is a reason for this - the greenhouse effect created by the dense carbon dioxide atmosphere. At the surface, the density of the atmosphere is 14 times less than that of water. Despite the fact that the planet rotates slowly, there is no difference in daytime and nighttime temperatures. The atmosphere of Venus extends to an altitude of 250 kilometers. The clouds are located at an altitude of 30-60 kilometers. The cover consists of several layers. Its chemical composition has not yet been established. But there are suggestions that chlorine and sulfur compounds are present here. Measurements were carried out from the board of spacecraft, which descended in the atmosphere of the planet. They showed that the cloud cover is not very dense and looks like a light haze. In ultraviolet light, it looks like a mosaic of dark and light stripes that extend to the equator at a slight angle. The clouds rotate from east to west.

The period of movement is 4 days. From here it comes out that the speed of the winds that blow at the level of the clouds is 100 meters per second. Lightning strikes here 2 times more often than in the Earth's atmosphere. This phenomenon has been called the "electric dragon of Venus." It was first recorded by the Venera-2 spacecraft. It was detected as radio interference. According to the Venera-8 apparatus, only an insignificant part of the sun's rays reach the surface of Venus. When the Sun is at its zenith, the illumination is 1000-300 lux. There are never bright days here. "Venus Express" discovered in the atmosphere the ozone layer, which is located at an altitude of 100 kilometers.

Venus climate

Calculations show that if the greenhouse effect was absent, the maximum temperature of Venus would not be higher than 80 degrees. In fact, the planet's temperature is 477 degrees, the pressure is 93 atm. These calculations disappointed some researchers, who believed that conditions on Venus were close to those on Earth. The greenhouse effect leads to strong heating of the planet's surface. Here the wind is rather weak, and in the equatorial region it increases up to 200 - 300 m per second. Thunderstorms were also detected in the atmosphere.

Internal structure and surface

Thanks to the development of radar methods, it became possible to study the surface of Venus. The most detailed map was compiled by the Magellan apparatus. He captured 98% of the planet. Vast elevations have been identified on the planet. The largest of them are the Land of Aphrodite and the Land of Ishtar. There are relatively few impact craters on the planet. 90% of Venus is covered with basalt solidified lava. Much of the surface is young. With the help of "Venus Express" was compiled and published a map of the southern hemisphere of the planet. Based on these data, hypotheses appeared about the existence of strong tectonic activity and oceans here. There are several models of its structure. At its most realistic, Venus has 3 shells. The first is the crust, which is 16 km thick. The second is the mantle. It is a shell that extends to a depth of 3,300 km. Since the planet does not have a magnetic field, it is believed that there is no electric current that calls it. This means that the core is in a solid state. In the center, the density reaches 14 g / cm³. A large number of details of the relief of the planet have female names.

Relief

The Venera-16 and Venera-15 spacecraft recorded part of the northern hemisphere of Venus. From 1989 to 1994, Magellan made more accurate mapping of the planet. Here were discovered ancient volcanoes that spew lava, mountains, arachnoids, craters. The bark is very thin as it is weakened by heat. The land of Aphrodite and Ishtar are no less than Europe in area, and the Parnge canyons surpass them in length. Lowlands similar to ocean trenches occupy 1/6 of the planet's surface. On Ishtar Land, the Maxwell Mountains rise 11 kilometers. Impact craters are a rare element of the planet's landscape. There are approximately 1000 craters on the entire surface.

Observation

Venus is very easy to recognize. It shines much brighter than any stars. It can be distinguished by its even white... Like Mercury, it does not move a great distance from the Sun. It can move away from the yellow star by 47.8 degrees at the moments of elongation. Venus, like Mercury, has periods of evening and morning visibility. In ancient times, it was believed that the evening and morning Venus are two different stars. Even with a small telescope, you can easily observe changes in the visible phase of its disk. It was first observed by Galileo in 1610.

Passage across the disk of the Sun

Venus looks like a small black disk against the background of a large star. But this phenomenon is very rare. For 2.5 centuries, there are 4 passes - 2 June and 2 December. The latter we could observe on June 6, 2012. On December 11, 2117, the next passage is expected. Astronomer Horrocks first observed this phenomenon on December 4, 1639. It was he who figured it out.

The "apparitions of Venus on the Sun" were also of particular interest. They were made by Lomonosov in 1761. It was also calculated in advance and expected by astronomers around the world. His study was necessary to determine the parallax, which allows you to specify the distance from the Sun to the Earth. This required observation from different points of the planet. They were held in 40 points with the participation of 112 people. Lomonosov was an organizer in Russia. He was interested in the physical side of the phenomenon and, thanks to independent observations, discovered a rim of light around Venus.

Satellite

Venus, like Mercury, does not have natural satellites... There used to be many claims about their existence, but they were all based on a mistake. This search was nearly completed by 1770. Indeed, during the observation of the planet's passage across the solar disk, no signs of the existence of a satellite were found. Venus has a quasi-satellite that revolves around the Sun so that an orbital resonance exists between Venus and it, asteroid 2002 VE. In the 19th century, Mercury was believed to be a satellite of Venus.

Interesting Venus Facts:

Venus is not much smaller than Earth.

This is the second planet from the Sun. The distance between them is 108 million km.

Venus is a solid planet. Refers to terrestrial planets. Its surface has a volcanic landscape and many craters.

The planet revolves around the Sun in 225 Earth days.

Venus's atmosphere is toxic and dense. It is composed of nitrogen, carbon dioxide. There are also clouds that are composed of sulfuric acid.

The planet has no satellites.

More than 40 devices have examined Venus. In the 1990s, Magellan mapped roughly 98% of the planet.

There is no proof of life.

The planet rotates in the opposite direction compared to the rest. The sun sets here in the east and rises in the west.

Venus can cast a shadow on the Earth's surface on a moonless night. This planet is the brightest of all.

There is no magnetic field.

The planet's sphere is ideal, in contrast to the earth's, which has a flattened sphere at the poles.

Thanks to the strong wind, the clouds completely fly around the planet in 4 Earth days.

It is impossible to see the Earth or the Sun from the surface of the planet, as it is constantly enveloped by clouds.

The diameter of the craters on the surface of Venus reaches two or more kilometers.

There is no change of seasons due to the slow rotation around the axis.

It is believed that earlier there were large reserves of water, but thanks to solar radiation, it evaporated.

Venus is the first planet seen from space.

The dimensions of the planet are smaller than the dimensions of the Earth, the density is lower, and the mass is equal to 4/5 of the mass of our planet.

Due to the low gravity, a 70 kg person on Venus will weigh no more than 62 kg.

Our earthly year is a little more than a Venusian day.

Venus is the second farthest planet in the solar system from the main star. She is often called the "twin sister of the Earth", because she is almost identical to our planet in size and is its kind of neighbor, but otherwise has many differences.

The celestial body was named named after the Roman goddess of fertility. V different languages the translations of this word differ - there is such a meaning as "the grace of the gods", the Spanish "shell" and the Latin - "love, charm, beauty." The only one of the planets of the solar system, she has earned the right to be called a beautiful female name due to the fact that in ancient times she was one of the brightest in the sky.

Size and composition, nature of the soil

Venus is quite a bit smaller than our planet - its mass is 80% of the earth. More than 96% of it is carbon dioxide, the rest is nitrogen with a small amount of other compounds. By its structure the atmosphere is dense, deep and very cloudy and consists mainly of carbon dioxide, so the surface is difficult to see due to a kind of "greenhouse effect". The pressure there is 85 times ours. The composition of the surface in its density resembles the basalts of the Earth, but it itself extremely dry due to the total absence of liquid and high temperatures. The crust is 50 kilometers thick and consists of silicate rocks.

Research by scientists has shown that Venus has granite deposits along with uranium, thorium and potassium, as well as basalt rocks. The top layer of the soil is close to the earth, and the surface is strewn with thousands of volcanoes.

Periods of rotation and circulation, change of seasons

The period of rotation around its axis for this planet is quite long and is approximately 243 of our days, exceeding the period of revolution around the Sun, it is equal to 225 Earth days. Thus, a Venusian day is longer than one Earth year is the longest day on all planets in the solar system.

Another one interesting feature- Venus, unlike other planets of the system, rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west. At the closest approach to the Earth, the cunning "neighbor" turns only one side all the time, having time to make 4 turns around during breaks own axis.

The calendar turns out to be very unusual: the sun rises in the west, sets in the east, and the change of seasons is practically absent due to too slow rotation around itself and constant "baking" from all sides.

Expeditions and satellites

The first spacecraft sent from Earth to Venus was the Soviet Venera-1 spacecraft, launched in February 1961, the course of which could not be corrected and it passed far past. More successful was the flight performed by the Mariner-2 spacecraft, which lasted 153 days, and ESA Venus Express orbiting satellite passed as close as possible, launched in November 2005.

In the future, namely in 2020-2025, the American space agency plans to send a large-scale space expedition to Venus, which will have to get answers to many questions, in particular, concerning the disappearance of the oceans from the planet, geological activity, the peculiarities of the atmosphere there and the factors of its change. ...

How long to fly to Venus and is it possible?

The main difficulty of flying to Venus is that it is difficult to tell the ship exactly where to go in order to reach its destination directly. You can move along the transitional orbits of one planet to another, as if catching up with her. Therefore, a small and inexpensive device will spend a significant part of the time on this. No human has ever set foot on the planet, and she is unlikely to like this world of unbearable heat and strong wind. Unless just fly by ...

Concluding the report, we note one more interesting fact: today nothing is known about natural satellite ah Venus. It also does not have rings, but it shines so brightly that on a moonless night it is perfectly visible from the inhabited Earth.

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Planet Venus for kids

According to ancient Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.
The weight of a person on the planet Venus
You guys would be interested to know how much each of you would weigh on this wonderful planet? On this page you will find answers to many questions. As for the weight, you will be surprised - it will remain almost the same as on Earth, since the sizes of our planets are approximately the same and if you had a weight equal to 70 pounds (32kg), then on Venus it will be 63 pounds (29kg).

Planet venus
For scientists around the world, the planet Venus remains the most uncertain of all the planets inside our solar system. With its own special atmosphere, several times higher than the density of the Earth's atmosphere, the planet is difficult to study. And yet, scientists have recently managed to "break through" through dense layers of clouds and photograph the surface of the planet. On the surface of Venus, mountains with faults and many volcanoes were found. Despite its inaccessibility, scientists managed to find out many secrets of the planet and its secrets with the help of modern scientific and technical experiments and special devices. In the 70s of the last century in the Soviet Union, as our country was called earlier, spacecraft were launched with landing on the surface of a mysterious planet. And, despite the fact that the scientific probes managed to hold out for only a couple of hours, because there is a strong heat, the scientists got good pictures for their scientific research. Then the probes fell into disrepair from the high temperature of the planet's surface.

Twin sister of our Earth
The composition of the planet Venus, its size, weight and density are identical with the same parameters of our planet.

Venus Message

Simply put, Venus and Earth are sisters, because they are made of similar materials and are in almost equal proportions. On the surface of the planets there are the same mountains, volcanoes, and also sand. At the same time, being considered twin sisters, the planets are completely different in character. Venus is an evil twin in character, since its hot surface is fatal to all living things. On its surface, food could be cooked in a few minutes. There is absolutely nowhere to hide from the heat on the planet. In addition, the planet has a huge amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere and therefore is considered highly toxic, not adapted for life.
Children about global warming
Scientists say that at first, as soon as it was formed, the planet Venus was the same as ours. But under the influence external forces operating in the Cosmos, after millions of years its course has changed, and it has become closer to the Sun. The temperature on the planet is much higher than that of the earth, and water from its surface evaporates more strongly. The amount of vapor increases in the atmosphere, and greenhouse gases, absorbing air, prevent it from going into space. Therefore, scientists talk about it as about global warming on the planet, which cannot be stopped.

Distance from the Sun to Venus

Which distance from Venus to the Sun? This is enough interest Ask... 108 million km is the average distance to the Sun. More precisely, it is 107 million km at perihelion and 109 million km at aphelion.

All planets move in an eccentric orbit. The higher the eccentricity value, the greater the distance between perihelion and aphelion. The eccentricity of Venus's orbit is only 0.01. Mercury has the most eccentric orbit and an orbital eccentricity of 0.205 and ranges within 23 million km. There are many other interesting facts related to Venus; some of them are listed below. Feel free to compare our data with NASA, or visit the NASA website for other interesting facts not mentioned here.

The year on Venus is similar to Earth, and lasts 224.7 Earth days, but the day of Venus actually lasts a very, very long time.

Planet venus

One day on the planet lasts about 117 Earth days. Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky, with a value of - 4.6. Brighter only moon... By the way, Venus rotates in the opposite direction. Why does the rotation and orbit not correspond to the direction of other planets?

Venus is often called a sister Of the earth because of her similar sizes, gravity and composition. The surface of Venus is obscured by the reflective clouds of sulfuric acid surrounding the planet. Besides reflecting visible light, Venus has the densest atmosphere in the solar system. Atmospheric pressure on the planet's surface is 92 times higher than that of the Earth.

Most of the planet's surface was formed by volcanic processes. There are several times more volcanoes than on Earth, from 167 with a diameter of over 100 km. This does not mean that Venus is more volcanically active than Earth - just that its crust is older. Earth's crust has an average age of about 100 million years, and the age of the surface of Venus is estimated to be 300-600 million years. Several probes have recorded evidence of lightning and thunder in the atmosphere of Venus. Since there is no rain on Venus, it is likely that volcanic eruptions have generated lightning.

It is easy to say what is the distance from Venus to the Sun, answering questions about the internal structure of the planet is impossible. Despite the fact that scientists know a lot about Venus, there are many more mysteries to explore. Venus Express is now sending new data every day from the planet's orbit for study.

Venus- This is a terrestrial planet, the second in terms of distance from the Sun. It has similar dimensions to our planet, has approximately the same gravity, and is located in a neighboring orbit (closer to the Sun).

29 interesting facts about Venus

With all this in mind, Venus is often called the sister of the Earth. The younger sister, because she is only about 500 million years old. It is noteworthy that this is the only planet that received its name in honor of a female deity.

Venus characteristic

Weight and size.
In size, Venus is only slightly inferior to the Earth - its radius is 6052 km (this is about 95% of the Earth).
It is also inferior in density, and therefore the masses of the planets differ slightly more - the Earth is 19% heavier.

Orbit and rotation.
In its orbit, Venus moves at a speed of 35 km / s and makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 225 days. Quite acceptable.
But the planet revolves around its axis monstrously slowly - a full revolution takes 243 days (a day lasts longer than a year!).

Structure and composition.
The core of the planet consists of iron and is located in solid state(This assumption was made, since Venus does not have a magnetic field, which means that there is no movement of charged particles in the nucleus).
A relatively uniform silicate layer - the mantle - extends from the core to the very surface.
Well, the crust is about 16 kilometers thick.

General information

Despite some similarities with our planet, Venus is also different in many ways.
For a start, this is a relief - it is very gloomy and deserted, it consists of plate-like rocks. At the same time, there is no water on the surface. It is believed to have evaporated due to the high temperature (there used to be oceans on the surface).
It should also be noted that the planet has a huge atmospheric pressure - 92 times that of the Earth!

Atmosphere.
The atmosphere is almost entirely carbon dioxide - about 96%. Clouds of sulfuric acid soar in the air, completely hiding the surface of the planet.
At the same time, Venus is constantly losing oxygen and hydrogen (it simply evaporates into interstellar space), which is why the conditions on the planet do not get better.

Climate.
Temperatures near the planet's surface are very high - about +475 ° C. Among the planets of the solar system, it is on Venus that it is hottest. This is due to the atmosphere - it is very dense, and therefore creates a greenhouse effect.

• - The atmosphere of Venus constantly revolves around the planet, at a speed of about 130 m / s. She is believed to be involved in some kind of huge hurricane. So far, it has not been possible to find another intelligible explanation for this phenomenon.
• - The younger sister of the Earth has no satellites.
• - You can see Venus from Earth naked eye just after sunset and before sunrise. In the sky, it is only slightly larger and brighter than the stars.

Named after the goddess of love, the planet Venus has always attracted people's eyes. Looking into the sky, Venus can be easily seen in the morning and evening hours (it does not rise high above the earth's horizon), but it is the brightest among the stars, its brightness is -4.4-4.8. Venus is the second after Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun and the closest planet to Earth. In many respects: diameter, mass, gravity and basic composition, Venus is very similar to our planet, only slightly smaller. For some time it was believed that there is life, as on our planet, with seas and oceans, with land and forests. It is referred to as an earth-like planet. I would like to note that Venus has always been one of the most beloved planets of earthlings, therefore they endowed her with a beautiful female name, composed myths, poems and songs about her, comparing them with the most beautiful and mysterious images.

Basic information about Venus.

The radius of Venus is 6051.8 km.
Weight - 4.87 10²⁴kg.
Density - 5.25 g / cm³.
Free fall acceleration -8.87 m / sec.
The second space velocity is 10.46 km / sec. The orbit is circular, the eccentricity is only 0.0068, the smallest among the planets of the solar system.
The distance from the planet to the Sun is 108.2 million km.
Distance to Earth: 40 - 259 million km
The period of revolution around the Sun (sidereal period) is 224.7 days, with an average orbital speed of 35.03 km / sec.
The proper rotation is equal to 243 Earth days.
The synodic period is 583.92 days.
Deviation of the axis of rotation to the perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic -3.39 degrees
The planet rotates in a direction different from the Earth and other planets (except Uranus).
A revolution around its own axis takes 243.02 days.
The magnitude of solar days on the planet is 15.8 Earth days.
The angle of inclination of the equator to the orbit is 177.3 degrees.

Orbit of Venus.

Venus's orbit is simple (almost circular), and at the same time, very unique in the solar system. It has the smallest eccentricity (as noted above, equal to 0.0068). But the most significant and mysterious feature is that it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction to the motion of its orbit around the Sun. This is a rare occurrence in the characteristics of the planets of the solar system, (except for Uranus), which has the same characteristic feature. It rotates around an axis from east to west. If you look from its North Pole, then it rotates clockwise in orbit, although all other planets of our system rotate counterclockwise. Why this is happening remains a mysterious mystery at the current stage of the development of science. The discrepancy in the direction of the planet's movement around its own axis in orbit gives us the length of a day on Venus (116.8 times longer than on our Earth), and therefore there is only twice a year that the Sun rises and sets. Day (i.e. day and night) are equal to 58.4 earth days. The planet orbits the Sun in 224.7 days (sidereal period) at a speed of 34.99 km / sec., With its own rotation around the axis of 243 days (Earth days). The planet has its own unusual calendar, where the year lasts less than a day. Due to the slight inclination of the orbital plane to the equatorial plane, there are practically no seasonal changes on Venus. Due to the fact that the orbit of Venus is between the orbits of Mercury and our planet, and is closer to the Sun than we are, earthlings can observe a change in the phases of Venus, as well as of the Moon. For the first time such a change in phases was recorded in 1610 by Galileo, after he invented the telescope, and while observing Venus. But in fine cloudless weather, during the closest approach of Venus to the Earth, and without a telescope, you can see the crescent of Venus in the sky. You can observe the planet for a short time, only in the period after sunset and then before sunrise, since its orbit is no more than 48 degrees away from the Sun. In the lower conjunction to the Earth, Venus is always turned on one side.

Atmosphere and climate.

For the first time, Lomonosov spoke about the atmosphere of Venus in 1761. He observed its passage across the solar disk and noticed a small halo around the planet when entering and exiting the solar disk. Subsequently, thanks to research, it was found that the planet has a very strong atmosphere, almost 92 times the mass of the earth. This is the most powerful atmosphere among earthlike planets. Sometimes it reaches 119 bar (in Diana Canyon).

Planet Venus - interesting facts

Due to the huge greenhouse effect and proximity to the Sun, the lower atmosphere temperature is very high, and on the surface often reaches 470-530⁰С, and the daily fluctuations due to the large greenhouse effect are insignificant. The entire surface of Venus is hidden behind dense dense clouds (presumably - from sulfuric acid!), On the surface of this planet there are never clear days. Thanks to modern research, it has been established that carbon dioxide predominates in the atmosphere (its content is 97%). This is due to the fact that there are no exchange processes of carbon, and there are no vital processes that would convert this gas into biomass. The atmosphere also contains 4% nitrogen, water vapor (about 0.05%), a thousandth of oxygen, as well as SO2, H2S, CO, HF, HCL. The sun's rays pass through the atmosphere only partially, and mainly in the form of multiple scattered radiation. The visibility is about the same as on a cloudy day on Earth.
The climate of Venus is characterized by almost no seasonal changes. The temperature is very high, higher than on Mercury, and reaches 500 degrees Celsius due to the greenhouse effect. The clouds are located at an altitude of 30-50 km and have several layers. When studying the clouds with ultraviolet light, they found that the clouds move in the equator from the east, almost straight, to the west for a period of 4 days, and strong winds blow at the level of multilayer clouds at a speed of 100 m / s. and more. Scientists have come to the conclusion that over the planet. at the upper boundaries of the clouds, one common hurricane is raging, although on the very surface of the planet the wind weakens to 1 m / s. Acid rain is believed to be possible. A large number of thunderstorms have been established, almost twice as many as on Earth. While their origin has not been precisely determined. The planet's magnetic field is very weak, but due to its proximity to the Sun and the large force of gravity, tidal effects are very significant. and in these places there is a high intensity of the electric field (more than on Earth.)
The sky overhead on the planet is yellow with a greenish tint, since the atmosphere and carbon dioxide almost do not allow rays of a different spectrum to pass through.

Internal structure and surface of Venus.

To date, scientists believe that the most reliable model of the internal structure of Venus is the most common, classical model, consisting of three shells: a thin crust (about 14-16 km thick and a density of 2.7 g / cm³), a mantle of molten silicate and a solid iron core , where there is no movement of liquid masses, which leads to a very small magnetic field. It is assumed that the mass of the core is 30% of the total mass of the planet. The center of mass of the planet is significantly displaced relative to its geometric center, by about 430 km.
Thanks to research by spacecraft, a map of the surface of Venus was compiled. The planet looks like a dry, completely waterless and very hot desert with unsteady ripples. 85% of the surface is plain. The hills are 10%. The largest elevations are the Ishtar plateau and the Aphrodite plateau, which are 3-5 km above the mid-level level. They are also called the land of Ishtar and Aphrodite or continents. The highest mountain is Maxwell on the Ishtar plateau, reaching an altitude of 12 km. There are also many large regular round depressions with a diameter of 10 to 200 km. Impact craters are relatively few, there are about 1000 of them. Their inner area is filled with lava, and sometimes petals stick out from the fragments of crushed rock that flew up. A network of small cracks in the crust is often visible around the craters. There are also craters of volcanoes, grooves and lines in the crust. and whole rivers of basalt lavas. All this speaks about the past tectonic activity on the planet. It should be said that during this period of research by spacecraft, no volcanic and tectonic activity on the planet has been recorded.

When landing spacecraft, the surface of the ground was recorded as smooth rocky fragments of basalt rock with an average size of up to 1 meter. Approximately, knowing the frequency of bombardment of planets by asteroids, comets and meteorites, you can determine the age of the planet. Venus, according to these data, 0.5 - 1 million. years. The rules for naming the relief of the surface of Venus were approved in 1985 by the 19th Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Small craters were given female names: Katya, Olya, etc., large ones were named after famous women, hills and plateaus are named after goddesses, furrows and lines are named after warring women. However, as always, there are exceptions, such as Mount Maxwell, Alpha and Beta regions.
Unfortunately, the beautiful and brightest silvery-white planet remains mysterious and enigmatic for us. The main discovery of science - Venus is lifeless, deserted, there is no water on it, the surface is very hot.

Space and its secrets

Orbit of Venus, distance from Earth

Venus belongs to the terrestrial planets and is the second planet of the solar system. That is, it is closer to the Sun than our native blue planet. The orbit of Venus is almost circular, its eccentricity is only 0.0068, and therefore the distance to the star changes insignificantly. Its average value is 108.21 million km... But the distance from Earth to Venus is not constant. Its value is constantly changing depending on the position of the planets in their orbits.

Planet Venus: interesting data and facts

Therefore, there are minimum and maximum distances. The minimum distance between Earth and Venus is 38 million km... This occurs on average every 584 days. At the same time, due to a decrease in the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, in the distant future, the minimum distance will increase. As for the maximum distance, it is 261 million km... In this case, the blue planet and Venus are not on opposite sides of the Sun, but in the most distant points of their orbits from each other.

It is noteworthy that all the planets of the solar system revolve around the sun in a counterclockwise direction, when viewed from north pole Earth. In addition, most of the planets and around their axes also rotate counterclockwise. Venus, on the other hand, is subject to retrograde rotation.... It rotates around its axis in a clockwise direction.

It makes one revolution around the Sun in 224.7 days at a speed of 35.02 km / s. But its rotation around its own axis corresponds to 243 Earth days at an equatorial speed of 6.52 km / h. This indicator is considered the slowest in visible outer space. A sunny day on the planet corresponds to 117 earth days. For reference, a sunny day on Mercury (1st planet in the solar system) lasts 176 Earth days.

These are the features of the orbit of Venus. It is also noteworthy that the length of the Venusian year is shorter than the length of the Venusian day. And the synodic period is 584 days - the time between successive conjunctions of Venus with the Sun when observed from Earth. If you observe the Sun from the surface of the planet, then it will rise in the west and set in the east. However, the clouds enveloping Venus will not make it possible to see the star.

The 2nd planet of the solar system has no natural satellites... Venus is believed to have had its own moon billions of years ago. But then a huge meteorite fell on the planet and changed its rotation. After that, the satellite began to approach Venus and collided with her. There is also speculation that the absence of moons is due to strong solar tidal forces. They destabilize large space objects and prevent them from rotating around the 2nd planet.

The cosmic body under consideration is closer to the Sun than the Earth, therefore the orbit of Venus makes it possible to see from the Earth the passage of the 2nd planet across the disk of the Sun. At the same time, it looks like a small black disk against the background of a shining star. But this phenomenon can be seen very rarely. In 243 years, 1 cycle occurs. It consists of pairs of transits, divided by 8 years, and at intervals of 105.5 or 121.5 years.

For the first time this cosmic effect was observed on December 4, 1639 by the astronomer from England Jeremiah Horrocks. And in the future, people will observe the next pair of transits in December 2117 and 1125.

Mikhail Lomonosov on June 6, 1761 also saw the appearance of Venus on the Sun. In addition to him, more than a hundred astronomers around the world have become eyewitnesses of this phenomenon. Some of them set out to use this effect to calculate the distance from Earth to Venus and to the Sun.

But of all this mass of specialists, only Lomonosov noticed a rim of light around the planet. It appeared when the planet entered the solar disk, and then this effect was repeated when it descended from the solar disk. The Russian scientist concluded that this rim indicates that the planet has a dense atmosphere. Later it turned out that Lomonosov was not mistaken.

Vladislav Ivanov

Venus- the second planet from the Sun and the closest to the Earth. It is the brightest of the celestial objects (after the Sun and Moon). Venus is visible either at dusk or in the morning.

Of all the planets in the solar system Venus in size and structure, it is most similar to the Earth. With a diameter of 12,100 km, it is the "twin" of our planet. But despite this proximity, it is unlikely that astronauts will ever land on its surface. Extremely heat and the dense atmosphere does not allow a person to be there even a short time.

Venus has its own, very special, characteristics in the solar system. Of all the planets, Venus is the only one, except for Uranus, which rotates on its axis from east to west. Usually the planets rotate around their axis in the same direction in which they revolve around the Sun, that is, from west to east. Astronomers call the "reverse" rotation of Venus retrograde.

In addition, the rotation period of the planet Venus is large enough, noticeably longer than the orbital period. It takes Venus 243 days to complete a complete rotation around its axis, and only 225 days to complete an almost perfectly circular circumsolar orbit.

This means that, unlike the Earth, whose rotation determines the change of day and night, on Venus the period when the Sun remains above the horizon depends on the period of the planet's revolution around the star.

The structure of Venus

It is believed that the internal structure of Venus is similar to the internal structure of the Earth: with a crust, a mantle of molten materials and a ferruginous inner core. According to the existing model, the thickness of the core is 3200 km, the mantle is 2800 km, and the crust is 20 km.

The iron core, it would seem, should generate a magnetic field, in fact, it is absent, apparently due to the peculiarities of the planet's motion. The planet's slow rotation is an explanation for this phenomenon, although not entirely convincing.

But the solar wind, when it breaks through the upper layers of the atmosphere, ionizes them and forms an atmospheric front, which creates an elongated magnetic field, elongated in the direction opposite to the direction of the solar wind.

Atmosphere of Venus

Carbon dioxide makes up 96.5% of the total volume of the atmosphere, the remaining 3.5% is nitrogen with traces of oxygen, carbon monoxide, argon and sulfuric anhydride. In addition, there is a low percentage of water vapor.

Perhaps, in the first phases of the Earth's evolution, its atmosphere was similar to that of Venus. Due to the fact that the substances that make up the Venusian atmosphere are very heavy, the pressure on the planet's surface is much higher than that of the Earth. atmospheric pressure... It is close to the value that exists on Earth at a depth of 90 m under water - 90-95 atmospheres. An astronaut on Venus would be subjected to this terrible force, which would immediately flatten him. Moreover, the gas mixture is toxic to humans.

The increased density and special composition of the atmosphere cause a very powerful greenhouse effect. The lower layers of the atmosphere retain heat in the same way as heat is retained in a greenhouse. As a result, the temperature reaches 475 ° C.

The modules launched from the probes detected the presence of strong radio waves emitted by electric currents, which clearly indicates that there are thunderstorms on Venus, much stronger and more frequent than on Earth.

Observations of the atmosphere of Venus showed the presence of strong winds in the upper layers. In these layers, the clouds in retrograde motion make a complete revolution around the planet in four days, while its rotation around the axis is 243 days. With increasing altitude, the temperature decreases. For example, at an altitude of 100 km, it is -90 ° С.

On the surface of Venus soon after its formation, there were probably water oceans... But over time, the radiation of the Sun (then still very young) was too strong, and the oceans began to evaporate, and carbon dioxide was released from the rocky soil and spread in the atmosphere. Over time, the greenhouse effect intensified, and temperatures continued to rise, increasing evaporation. Soon all the water disappeared from the surface, and the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere became very high.


A computer simulated view of Venus without clouds (left) and a composite radar image of the same hemisphere (right) from the Magellan mission. The center of the frame is 180 degrees east longitude (NASA / USGS illustration)

Surface of Venus

The surface of Venus is a rocky desert illuminated by a yellowish light, dominated by orange and brown soil colors. In the absence of seas, orographic features (mountains or lowlands) can be determined; they have stabilized at an average level, although there are high-altitude zones. The relief contains hills, plains and small mountain ranges. There are also lowlands in the place of the planet's prehistoric oceans.

With the help of probes, especially the Magellan, it was discovered that volcanic activity was taking place on Venus. This conclusion was made based on scans of some zones, which showed the presence of opacity of the surface, indicating the presence of recently erupted lava. Indeed, under the influence of the planet's dense atmosphere, the surface part of the magma is very quickly eroded, revealing a layer of iron sulfide, which reflects the radar beams very well, since it is a good conductor.

The composition of Venusian rocks is similar to that of terrestrial basaltic rocks. Moreover, the morphology and results of tectonic activity (craters, volcanoes, falling meteorites, earthquakes) are so diverse that a very rich and turbulent geological history can be assumed.

On Venus, two regions can be distinguished that are suggestive of continents because they are at a considerable height above average surface level. These areas, the Land of Ishtar and the Land of Aphrodite, are respectively in the Northern Hemisphere and south of the equator, which crosses the Land of Aphrodite in its northern part.

The land of Ishtar is slightly smaller in size than the United States, and is dominated by the planet's highest peak, Mount Maxwell, 11 km high.

The land of Aphrodite is slightly larger than Africa. There is Mount Maat, an 8 km high volcano surrounded by a plain of freshly erupted lava, indicating the presence of volcanic activity on Venus. On this continent there is a system of canyons of tectonic origin, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, 2-4 km deep and up to 280 km wide.

Venus characteristics

Average distance from the Sun - 108.2 million km (minimum - 107.4; maximum - 109)
Equatorial diameter - 12 103 km
Average speed of orbital motion around the Sun - 35.03 km / s
Rotation period - 243 days 00 h 14 min (retrograde)
Circulation period - 224.7 days
Known satellites - none
Mass (Earth = 1) - 0.815
Volume (Earth = 1) - 0.857
Average density - 5.25 g / cm3
Average surface temperature - about 470 ° C
Axis deviation - 117 ° 3 "
Orbital deviation in relation to the ecliptic - 3 ° 4 "
Surface pressure (Earth = 1) - 90
Atmosphere - carbon dioxide (96.5%), nitrogen (3.5%), traces of oxygen and other elements.

Venus is the second planet in the distance from the Sun (the second planet of the solar system).

Venus belongs to the terrestrial planets and is named after the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty. Venus has no natural satellites. Has a dense atmosphere.

Venus has been known to people since ancient times.

Venus's neighbors are Mercury and Earth.

The structure of Venus is a subject of controversy. The most likely is: an iron core with a mass of 25% of the mass of the planet, the mantle (extending 3300 kilometers into the interior of the planet) and crust 16 kilometers thick.

A significant part of the surface of Venus (90%) is covered with solidified basalt lava. It contains vast hills, the largest of which are comparable in size to the terrestrial continents, mountains and tens of thousands of volcanoes. Impact craters on Venus are practically absent.

Venus has no magnetic field.

Venus is the third brightest object in the earth's sky after the Sun and the Moon.

Orbit of Venus

The average distance from Venus to the Sun is just under 108 million kilometers (0.72 astronomical units).

Perihelion (orbital point closest to the Sun): 107.5 million kilometers (0.718 astronomical units).

Aphelios (orbital point farthest from the Sun): 108.9 million kilometers (0.728 astronomical units).

The average speed of movement of Venus in orbit is 35 kilometers per second.

The planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 224.7 Earth days.

The length of a day on Venus is 243 terrestrial.

The distance from Venus to Earth ranges from 38 to 261 million kilometers.

The direction of rotation of Venus is opposite to the direction of rotation of all (except for Uranus) planets in the solar system.