Venus

Venus is the second planet in the solar system.  It has been known throughout history as the Morning Star and the Evening Star.  It is the Earth’s closet neighbor.

 Venus is 67,230,000 miles away from the Sun.  It has a diameter of 7,521 miles.  Venus is the brightest object in the sky with the exception of the Sun and the Moon.  Venus is almost the same size as Earth.

Venus has a very rocky surface.  We think it once had water and it boiled away.  Venus is very hot, 840 degrees Fahrenheit, and that is hot enough to melt lead. The surface of Venus is covered with plains.  There are two highland areas too.  There are no small craters on Venus, only large ones.  Venus has extinct volcanoes.

The atmosphere of Venus is made up of clouds.  The clouds are made up of sulfuric acid.  They move very quickly, 220 miles per hour.  The clouds also rain!  They rain sulfuric acid that evaporates before it reaches the planet’s surface.  Venus’ atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, and a tiny amount of water vapor.  The color of Venus is actually white!

Venus is very unusual.  It rotates so slowly that its day is longer than its year!  A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days.  A year on Venus is 224.7 Earth days. 

Venus was named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty.  It was probably named that because it is the brightest of the planets that was known to ancient mankind.

Venus has no moons.

This is what the symbol for the planet Venus looks like: