Venus is an extraordinary planet in our solar system. The second planet from the sun, is named Venus for the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet Venus — the only planet named after a female — may have been named for the most beautiful deity of her pantheon because it shone the brightest of the five planets known to ancient astronomers.
Venus and Earth are often called twins because they are similar in size, mass, density, composition and gravity. However, they have nothing else in common.
Venus is the hottest world in the solar system. Although Venus is not the planet closest to the sun, its dense atmosphere traps heat in a runaway version of the greenhouse effect that warms Earth. As a result, temperatures on Venus reach 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius), more than hot enough to melt lead.
If viewed from above, Venus rotates on its axis the opposite way that most planets rotate. That means on Venus, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east. On Earth, the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
How come a day in Venus is longer than its year?
A planets day is how long it takes it to complete one rotation on its axis. One day in Venus is equal to 243 Earth days. It completes one rotation every 243 Earth days.
Its day lasts longer than its orbit. Venus orbits the Sun every 224.65 Earth days, so a day is nearly 20 Earth days longer than its year.
Venus is closer to the Sun; therefore, its orbit takes a shorter period of time than its rotation upon its axis. The planet also rotates in retrograde. That means it spins in the opposite direction of the Earth. If you were standing on Venus, you could see the Sun rise in the West and set in the East.
A manned Venus flyby mission was proposed in the late 1960s. The mission was planned to launch in late October or early November 1973, and would have used a Saturn V rocket to send three men. The flight would have lasted approximately one year. The spacecraft would have passed approximately 5,000 km from the surface about four months into the flight. There have been several unmanned probes and flybys of the planet, including MESSENGER and the Venus Express. Future proposed missions include the BepiColombo, Venus InSitu Explorer, and the Venera-D.
An extraordinary planet indeed, but still: except that is hot as hell in Venus, having a bad day there also means having a bad year!
Sources: Space, Universe Today
