Venus Facts for Kids

The Hottest Planet!

Venus is the hottest planet in the entire solar system, even hotter than Mercury which is closer to the Sun! The surface temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit (475 degrees Celsius) - hot enough to melt lead! That is hotter than most ovens can even go!

Earth's Evil Twin!

Venus is almost the exact same size as Earth - only about 400 miles smaller in diameter! Scientists call it "Earth's twin" because the two planets are so similar in size. But that is where the similarities end, because Venus is a scorching hot nightmare world!

It Spins Backwards!

Venus is the only planet that spins backwards compared to most other planets! On Venus, the Sun rises in the WEST and sets in the EAST - the opposite of Earth! Scientists think a giant space collision billions of years ago may have flipped Venus upside down!

Super Slow Spinner!

Venus is the slowest spinning planet in our solar system! One full spin takes 243 Earth days. That means a single day on Venus is LONGER than an entire Venus year! A Venus year is only 225 Earth days, so the day is actually longer than the year. How weird is that?

Crushing Atmosphere!

The air pressure on Venus is 90 times greater than on Earth! Standing on Venus would feel like being 3,000 feet underwater in the ocean. The atmosphere is so thick and heavy it would crush you flat! No human could survive there without an incredibly strong spaceship.

Acid Rain Clouds!

Venus has thick clouds made of sulfuric acid - one of the most dangerous chemicals on Earth! It actually rains sulfuric acid on Venus, but the rain never reaches the ground because it evaporates in the extreme heat before it lands! The clouds make the whole planet look yellowish-white.

Runaway Greenhouse!

Venus is so hot because of a super powerful greenhouse effect! Its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide traps heat from the Sun like a giant blanket that never lets the warmth escape. It is like being inside a car with the windows up on the hottest day ever - times a thousand!

2nd From the Sun!

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting between Mercury and Earth. It is about 67 million miles from the Sun. Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is hotter because its thick atmosphere traps way more heat!

Brightest Thing in the Sky!

Venus is the brightest planet visible from Earth - sometimes it is so bright people mistake it for a UFO! You can see it as a super bright "star" just before sunrise or just after sunset. Ancient people called it the "Morning Star" and the "Evening Star" before they realized it was the same object!

No Moons At All!

Venus has zero moons! It is one of only two planets in our solar system with no moons at all (the other is Mercury). Scientists are not sure why Venus never captured a moon. Maybe its slow backwards spin and closeness to the Sun made it too hard to keep one!

Volcano World!

Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet in the solar system - over 1,600 major volcanoes and possibly thousands more small ones! Scientists think some of them might still be active today. The surface is covered in old lava flows that stretch for hundreds of miles!

Mostly Flat Plains!

Even though Venus has tons of volcanoes, most of its surface is made of smooth flat volcanic plains. About 80% of Venus is covered in these smooth lava plains! The entire surface was reshaped by massive volcanic eruptions about 300 to 500 million years ago.

Tallest Mountain on Venus!

The tallest mountain on Venus is called Maxwell Montes, and it is about 7 miles tall - almost as tall as Mount Everest! It is the only major feature on Venus not named after a woman or goddess. Venus is the only planet where almost everything is named after famous women!

Named After Love!

Venus is named after the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty! She was one of the most important Roman goddesses. The planet got this name because it is the brightest and most beautiful object in the night sky after the Moon.

Landing on Venus!

The Soviet Union sent several Venera spacecraft that actually landed on Venus in the 1970s and 1980s! They took the only photos ever from the surface of Venus. But the extreme heat and pressure destroyed each lander in less than 2 hours! The longest one lasted just 127 minutes!

Mapping Through Clouds!

NASA's Magellan spacecraft used special radar to map almost the entire surface of Venus from orbit between 1990 and 1994! Because Venus is covered in thick clouds, regular cameras cannot see the ground. Magellan bounced radio waves off the surface to create detailed maps!

Super Fast Cloud Winds!

The winds at the top of Venus's clouds blow at over 200 miles per hour - that is faster than a category 5 hurricane on Earth! The clouds zoom all the way around the planet in just 4 days, even though Venus itself rotates very slowly. Scientists call this "super-rotation"!

Our Closest Neighbor!

Venus comes closer to Earth than any other planet! At its closest, Venus is only about 25 million miles away from us. That is why it looks so bright in our sky. Mars, which people talk about more, is actually farther away most of the time!

Pancake Volcanoes!

Venus has unique volcanic formations called "pancake domes" - they look like giant flat pancakes made of lava! They form when thick sticky lava oozes out slowly and spreads in a flat circle. Some of these lava pancakes are over 40 miles wide! That is one big breakfast!

Almost Earth Gravity!

Venus has about 90% of Earth's gravity, so if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh about 90 pounds on Venus! You would feel almost normal walking around - except for the crushing pressure, acid clouds, and surface hot enough to melt metal. Otherwise it would be just like home!