The planet closest to us has a very beautiful name, but the surface of Venus makes it clear that in reality there is nothing in its character that would remind of the goddess of love. Sometimes this planet is called the twin sister of the Earth. However, the only thing that unites them is similar sizes.
Discovery story
Even with the smallest telescope, you can track the disk shift of this planet. Galileo first discovered this in the distant 1610. The atmosphere of this planet was noticed by Lomonosov in 1761, at the moment when it passed by the Sun. Surprisingly, such a move was predicted by calculations, so astronomers looked forward to this event with special impatience. However, only Lomonosov drew attention to the fact that with the “contact” of the discs of the star and the planet around the latter, a barely noticeable radiance appeared. The observer concluded that such an effect arose as a result of refraction of the sun's rays in the atmosphere. He considered that the surface of Venus is sheltered by an atmosphere very similar to Earth.
Planet
From the sun, this planet is in second place. At the same time, Venus is closer than other planets to Earth. In this case, before space flights became a reality, almost nothing was possible to learn about this celestial body. Very little was known:
- It is removed from the star at a distance of 108 million 200 thousand kilometers.
- Day on Venus lasts 117 earth days.
- It completes a complete revolution around our star in almost 225 Earth days.
- Its mass is 0.815% of the mass of the Earth, which is equal to 4.867 * 1024 kg.
- The acceleration of this planet is 8.87 m / s².
- The surface area of Venus is 460.2 million square kilometers.
The diameter of the planet’s disk is 600 km less than the earth’s, 12104 km. Gravity is almost the same as ours - our kilogram will weigh only 850 grams there. Since the size, composition and gravity of the planet are very similar to the Earth's parameters, it is commonly called “earth-like”.
The uniqueness of Venus is that it rotates in the wrong direction that other planets do. Only Uranus "behaves" in this way. Around its axis, Venus, whose atmosphere is very different from ours, turns around in 243 days. The planet manages to complete a revolution around the Sun in 224.7 days, equal to ours. This makes the year on Venus shorter than the day. In addition, day and night on this planet are changing, but the time of year is always the same.
Surface
The surface of Venus is composed mostly of hilly and almost flat plains, based on volcanic eruptions. The remaining 20% of the planet are gigantic mountains called the Land of Ishtar, the Land of Aphrodite, the Alpha and Beta regions. These massifs consist mainly of basaltic lava. Many craters were discovered in these areas, the average diameter of which is more than 300 kilometers. Scientists quickly found the answer to the question of why it is impossible to find a smaller crater on Venus. The fact is that meteorites, which could leave a relatively small footprint in the surface, simply do not reach it, burning in the atmosphere.
The surface of Venus is rich in various volcanoes, but it is not yet clear whether eruptions on the planet ended. This question is essential in the issue of planet evolution. The geology of "twin" is still very poorly studied, namely, it gives a basic understanding of the structure and formation processes of this celestial body.
It is still unknown whether the core of the planet is a liquid substance or a solid substance. But scientists found that it does not have electrical conductivity, otherwise Venus would have a magnetic field similar to ours. The lack of such activity remains a mystery to astronomers. The most popular point of view, more or less explaining this phenomenon, is that perhaps the curing process of the nucleus has not yet begun, because convective jets generating a magnetic field cannot be born in it yet.
The temperature on Venus reaches 475 degrees. For a long time, astronomers could not find an explanation for this. However, today, after a lot of research, it is believed that the greenhouse effect is to blame . According to calculations, if our planet came only 10 million kilometers closer to the sun, this effect would get out of control, as a result of which there would simply be an irreversible heating of the Earth and the death of all living things.
Scientists simulated a situation where the temperature on Venus was not so high, and found out that then there would be similar oceans on it.
There are no lithospheric plates on Venus that would need to be updated in a hundred million years. Judging by the available data, the planet’s crust is motionless for at least 500 million years. However, this does not mean that Venus is stable. From its depths rise elements that heat the bark, soften it. Therefore, it is likely that global relief is expected.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of this planet is very powerful, barely letting in the light of the Sun. But this light also does not look like the one that we see daily - these are just weak scattered rays. 97% of carbon dioxide, almost 3% of nitrogen, oxygen, inert gases and water vapor - that's what Venus “breathes”. The atmosphere of the planet is very poor in oxygen, but there are enough different compounds to form clouds from sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide.
The lower layers of the atmosphere surrounding the planet are practically motionless, but the wind speed in the troposphere is most often above 100 m / s. Such hurricanes merge together, circling the entire planet in just four of our days.
Research
Nowadays, they are exploring the planet not only through aircraft, but also through radio emission. Extremely unfavorable conditions on the planet greatly complicate its study. Nevertheless, over the past 47 years, 19 successful attempts have been made to send devices to the surface of this celestial body. In addition, the trajectory of six space stations provided valuable information about our nearest neighbor.
Since 2005, a ship has been in orbit around the planet studying the planet and its atmosphere. Scientists expect to use it to discover more than one secret of Venus. Currently, the device has transmitted to Earth a large amount of information that will help scientists learn about the planet much more. For example, it became known from their reports that hydroxyl ions are present in the atmosphere of Venus. Scientists have no idea how this can be explained.
One of the questions that experts would like to answer is: what kind of substance absorbs half of ultraviolet rays at an altitude of about 56-58 kilometers?
Observation
At dusk, Venus is seen very well. Sometimes its sparkling is so bright that shadows are created from objects on Earth (like from moonlight). In suitable conditions, it can be observed even in the daytime.
Interesting Facts
- The age of the planet by cosmic standards is very small - about 500 million years.
- The size of Venus is smaller than the Earth, gravity is lower, so a person would weigh less on this planet than at home.
- The planet has no satellites.
- A day on the planet is longer than a year.
- Despite its gigantic size, not a single crater on Venus is practically visible, since the planet is well hidden by clouds
- Chemical processes in the clouds contribute to the formation of acids.
Now you know a lot of interesting things about the mysterious terrestrial double.