Venus Planet Facts for Kids
If you are a young curious space enthusiast who loves to learn about our Solar System, then the planet Venus is surely on your radar. Venus is often referred to as the brightest planet in our nighttime sky and with good reason. It is not actually brighter than any other planet but its proximity to Earth and its reflective atmosphere makes it shine like a star. Let us dive into some cool facts about Venus:
1. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, located between Earth and Mercury. It is the sixth-largest planet in our Solar System.
2. Venus is sometimes called Earth’s sister planet because of its size, mass, and rocky composition.
3. The atmosphere of Venus is composed of carbon dioxide gas, sulfuric acid clouds, and a scattering of other gases. The thick clouds are so dense that it makes it extremely hot on the planet’s surface.
4. Venus has an incredibly slow rotation around its axis, taking approximately 243 Earth days to complete just one rotation. That means that Venus has one of the longest days out of all the planets in our Solar System.
5. Venus is often referred to as the “morning star” or “evening star” because it is visible in the sky just before dawn or just after dusk. However, this is not a star at all, it’s Venus!
6. Venus is a hostile environment that has broken several records in our Solar System. It has the hottest surface temperature of any planet, reaching up to a scorching 864°F (462°C).
7. Venus is the only planet in our Solar System to spin clockwise on its axis. Scientists still do not know why this peculiar phenomenon occurs.
8. Venus has volcanoes and huge impact craters dotting its surface. Due to the heat on Venus, the surface is never stationary, and volcanoes can erupt creating new mountains, valleys, and ranges.
9. The first spacecraft to visit Venus was the Mariner 2 probe in 1962. The spacecraft helped scientists learn a lot more about Venus, its atmosphere, and its characteristics.