PLANET PROFILE VENUS

Earth’s sister planet is a harsh, deadly world, making it an interesting one to observe

Hell on Earth is a phrase used by many, but one planet actually matches this idea of a harsh and inhospitable environment – that accolade falls to Venus. The second planet from the Sun is similar in size and density to Earth, with it being only 638 kilometres (396 miles) smaller in diameter and 0.27 grams per cubic centimetre lower in density. These physical dimensions may paint a picture of a world similar to Earth, but that’s far from the case. Venus underwent a different evolution, and its dense atmosphere has fashioned the hottest surface temperature in the entire Solar System at 465 degrees Celsius (869 degrees Fahrenheit), with atmospheric pressures that are over 90 times that of Earth’s at sea level.

Venus’ atmosphere is composed mainly of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, with small amounts of nitrogen and traces of other gases, most notably sulphur dioxide and argon. Comparing this atmosphere to Mars’ – which is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s – again highlights that these planetary evolutions took opposite approaches; one planet lost its atmospheric greenhouse gases while the other formed a thick atmosphere and as a result traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect.