Venus

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Venus
VenusScrshot.jpg
Venus in Orbiter
Designation
Name Venus
Reference body Sun
Number of satellites
Planetary mean orbits
Epoch J2000 (1 January 2000)
Semimajor axis (a) 0.72333199 AU
(1.082089255×1011 km)
Eccentricity (e) 0.00677323
Inclination (i) 3.39471°
(0.0592489 radian)
Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) 76.68069°
1.338331 radian)
Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) 131.53298°
(2.295684 radian)
Mean longitude (L) 181.97973°
(3.176145 radian)
Planetary orbital element centennial rates
Semimajor axis (a) 0.00000092 AU/Century
Eccentricity (e) -0.00004938 Century-1
Inclination (i) -2.86 seconds/Century
Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) -996.89 seconds/Century
Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) -108.80 seconds/Century
Mean longitude (L) 210664136.06 seconds/Century
Selected physical parameters|
Mean radius 6051.84 km
Mass 4.86855374×1024 kg
Density 5.204 g/cm3
Sidereal rotation period -5832.444 hours
Sidereal orbit period 0.6151826 years
Magnitude V(1,0) -4.4
Geometric albedo 0.65
Equatorial gravity 8.87 m/s2
Escape velocity 10.361 km/s
Rotation elements
North pole right ascension (α1) 272.78°
North pole declination (δ1) 67.21°
Obliqutiy of ecliptic 1.27°
Longitude of Sun's transit 301.07°
Atmospheric parameters
Surface Pressure 9200 kPa
Surface Density ~65 kg/m/3
Scale height 15.9 km
Average temperature 737 K
Wind speeds 0.3-1 m/s (surface)
Ecliptic position from primary*
Note *Elements given are from Orbiter.pdf (2016)

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It has a day longer than a year. The year length of Venus is 225 Earth days. The day length of Venus is 243 Earth days. It is a terrestrial planet because it has a solid, rocky surface like other planets in the inner solar system. Astronomers have known Venus for thousands of years. The ancient Romans named it after their goddess Venus. Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky except for the Moon. It is sometimes called the morning star or the evening star as at some elongations it is easily seen just before the sun comes up in the morning and, at other elongations, just after the sun goes down in the evening. Venus comes closer to the Earth than any other planet does.

Venus is sometimes called the sister planet of Earth as they are quite similar in size and gravity. In other ways, the planets are very different. Venus' atmosphere (air) is mostly carbon dioxide with clouds of sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid is a chemical that is very poisonous to humans.

The thick atmosphere has made it hard to see the surface, and until the twenty-first century, many people thought things might live there. The pressure on Venus' surface is 92 times that of Earth. Venus has no moons. Venus spins very slowly on its axis and it spins in the opposite direction to the other planets.

Missions to Venus available as add-ons

Historical missions to Venus

For a complete list of historical missions, see Missions to Venus.

Flight Warning!

At the surface of Venus, the atmospheric pressure is 9.2MPa, over 90 atmospheres. This is substantially greater than the back-pressure which standard rocket motors are able to generate; a Delta-glider landed on Venus will not be able to take off (at least if the complex flight model is in use).

See Also


edit The Solar System
Central star

Sun (Sol)

Planets

Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune

Natural satellites

Moon - Phobos - Deimos - Io - Europa - Ganymede - Titan - more...

Add-ons

Planets - Dwarf Planets - Small objects - Natural satellites - Alternative star systems

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