VENUSZackery Harris, Daniel Buennostro, Chris Hiltzman

Atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is very thick and is

about 90 times more massive than Earth's atmosphere. It is mostly carbon dioxide gas (about 96%), with some nitrogen (about 3%) and a very small amount of water vapor (0.003%). Venus also has a thick layer of sulfuric acid clouds.

Missions to Venus

Venera 1-16 (USSR, 1960s through 1980s)

Pioneer Venus 12 and 13 (NASA, 1978) Mariners 1,5, and 10 (NASA, 1960s

through 1970s) Magellan (NASA, 1989) Galileo (NASA, 1990)

Mission Goals (USSR and NASA)

USSR

Venera (Probe, Lander, and Orbiter)

1. To land on Venus to send pictures.

2. Come as close as possible

3. Find out the info for its orbit and rotation time and revolution time.

NASA

Pioneer Venus’s (Orbiter and Atmospheric Probe)

1. Took atmospheric photos and watched the planet

Mariners (Fly-bys)

1. Getting as close as possible to see surface.

Magellan and Galileo (Fly-by and Orbiter)\

1. Radar mapping and heat signature images were taken.

Surface Features of Venus The surface of Venus is rather smooth in many

places, though not nearly as smooth as originally expected . However, we find evidence for many of the same geological features found on Earth: canyons, volcanoes, lava flows, rift valleys, mountains, craters, and plains.

Image of a rift valley on Venus surface

Basic Information Venus orbits every 224.7 Earth days. Venus has no natural satellite. Average tempature is 462 Celsius degrees. Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty,

Venus. (Aphrodite in Greek) Venus is a terrestrial planet, basically it's known as

Earth's "sister planet" because of the similiar size, mass, and density.

It's atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide. It is the 2nd brightest object in the night sky with a

apparent magnitude of -4.6, bright enough to cast a shadow! (Moon is first)

Fun Facts! First Record: 17th century BC Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers Venus is also known as the Morning Star and the Evening

Star. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. The Russians sent the first mission to Venus. At one point it was thought Venus might be a tropical

paradise!

Size comparison between Earth and

Venus

History of Venus

The early mathematician Pythagoras was one of the first to recognize that the morning and evening stars were actually the same object: Venus. So perhaps he was the first to “discover Venus”.

The Maya civilization held Venus in high regard, and the planet figured prominently in their religious calendar.

Questions

Which of the planets experiences a runaway greenhouse effect?

Kepler’s first law states that planets orbit the sun in paths called..?

The two inner planets that most alike in size, mass, and density are..?

Answers

Venus contains a extreme amount of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

Law of Ellipses. They travel in these oval like shapes called ellipses.

Venus and Earth are most alike in size, mass, and density.

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