|
Home / Science
The Second Planet from the Sun
By:Burl Collins
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is the sixth largest. It is the brightest object in the night sky except for the Moon. Venus orbits the Sun once every 224.7 Earth days and gets as close to the Sun as 107.476 million kilometers and as far away from the Sun as 108.942 million kilometers. This makes the orbit of Venus less elliptical and more circular than any other planets. The temperature on the surface of Venus can reach as high as 740 degrees Kelvin. This is due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect whereby carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Venus traps the Suns heat inside. This makes Venus the hottest planet in the Solar System. Venus is even hotter than Mercury despite being farther away from the Sun.
Venus is 12,100 kilometers in diameter and has a mass of 4.869e+24 kilograms. This makes Venus similar to the Earth and has often been called Earths sister planet. But the similarities end there. One major difference between the Earth and Venus is that Venus rotates on its axis from east to west, which means if you lived on Venus you would see the Sun rise in the west and set in the east. The atmosphere on Venus is mostly carbon dioxide choked with sulfuric acid and has a pressure at the surface more than 92 times the pressure at sea level on Earth. Unlike the Earth, Venus does not have a magnetic field generated by its iron core. This may be the result of how slowly Venus rotates on its axis. The only magnetic field Venus has is very weak and is produced by the interaction of the solar wind and the ionosphere of Venus.
The surface of Venus is difficult to see through the thick, dense clouds and the first crude images of the surface were obtained using ground based radar. More detailed images were obtained by the Magellan spacecraft which was launched to Venus on May 4, 1989 and spent four and a half years radar mapping 98 percent of the surface of Venus. Later, the European Space Agency launched the Venus Express on November 9, 2005 and on April 11, 2006 it slipped into a polar orbit around Venus. These probes have now provided us with an accurate map of Venus.
Most of the surface of Venus is relatively flat plains created by giant pools of lava. Venus has thousands of small volcanoes and hundreds of large volcanoes many of which are over 100 kilometers in diameter. There are fairly large craters scattered at random all over the surface of Venus. These craters are more than 2 kilometers wide and smaller craters do not exist because smaller meteors burn up in the thick atmosphere of Venus. The map of Venus is dominated by two large highland areas, the Ishtar Terra, where the Maxwell Montes, the highest mountain can be found and the Aphrodite Terra highlands.
More missions to Venus are planned for the future and NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft just completed two fly bys of Venus in October 2006 and June 2007 while on its way to Mercury. A spacecraft called BepiColombo, which was launched by the European Space Agency, will also perform two fly bys of Venus on its way to Mercury. Japan is planning to launch the Planet-C Venus climate orbiter in 2010 and NASA has proposed a spacecraft called VISE the Venus In-Situ Explorer which will actually land on Venus. Once on the surface the Venus In-Situ Explorer will take a core sample and examine it. These mission to Venus will tell us more about the chemical composition and climate on Earths sister planet.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: venus, planet, magellan, nasa, messenger, bepicolombo, ishtar terra, maxwell montes, in-situ explorer
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Burl Collins is the owner of MSRD Inc and invites you to visit the MSRD Inc Forum
|
|
| Top Science Articles |
- 1). Chandrayan I By : dasan
It was on July 20, 1969 that "Eagle", the lunar module landed on the moon and American Astronaut Neil Armstrong took "that one small step" paving way for "a giant leap for mankind" .
In 2007-08, India will launch Chandrayan I, which will be closely followed by China's CHANGE-I. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is spear-heading all the activities in the field.
|
- 2). Looking To The Past Of Geothermal Energy By : Rick Solare
Geothermal energy is often viewed as a relatively new form of alternative energy. In truth, the use of geothermal energy stretches far back into the past.
Looking To The Past Of Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is literally, “earth heat”. This type of energy's name comes from two Greek words: “geo” meaning earth, and “therme”, which means heat.
|
- 3). Alternative Fuel Source - An Urgent Need For One By : Ernest R. Peterson
Using alternative fuel sources is not just a matter of environmental responsibility. It is not just about assuaging your conscience. It is good sense, and sound planning. Although most of us are in denial, the fossil fuels which form the backbone of our world economy are dwindling quite rapidly, even as we go about our daily business in our cars. Although few Americans use an alternative fuel source to commute, those who do are soon going to be at an advantage.
|
- 4). The Wages of Science By : Sam Vaknin
In the United States, Congress approved, In February 2003, increases in the 2003 budgets of both the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. America is not alone in - vainly - trying to compensate for imploding capital markets and risk-averse financiers.
In 1999, chancellor Gordon Brown inaugurated a $1.6 billion program of "upgrading British science" and commercializing its products.
|
- 5). Many Uses of Metal Detectors By : James Hunt
Have you ever lost something at the beach or at a park and wondered for weeks what happened to it? Chances are that someone was walking with the ingenious invention...
|
- 6). How the Meter Came To Be By : James Monahan
The meter follows a timeline dating back to the eighteenth century, when two approaches to the definition of the standard unit of length were broached.
|
- 7). How to Make a Thermometer By : James Hunt
A thermometer is an instrument that measures the temperature. Depending on what country you live in, temperature is measured either in a scale called Fahrenheit or Celsius...
|
- 8). The Fossil Record And Creation Science By : Greg Neyman
Young earth creationists commonly point to the fossil record in order to support their position. In one instance, the article "The Fossil Record: Becoming More Random All the Time" by John Woodmorappe, has some very good points to it (Footnote 1). Read it if you like, (its a long one), but you don't have to much farther than the abstract to see problems.
|
- 9). Weird Science – The Inner Workings Of The National Science Foundation By : Dave Klein
The National Science Foundation is an independent government agency in the United States. The National Science Foundation is responsible for providing support to basic science research, which is primarily accomplished through research funding.
The National Science Foundation mostly provides research funding in the form of grants. These grants are most often given in the form of individual grants to graduate students and professors.
|
- 10). Understanding the Scientific Method By : Professor Know
Understanding the scientific method and how to follow it is critical to building a good reputation in the technical community. In regards to science fairs, as a student progresses in grade levels the judges are going to demand more and more focus on using the scientific method.
Here is my seven step description of the scientific method.
1. Define the question 2.
|
| New Science Articles |
|
|
- 2). Amazing New Hubble Pics By : Anne Noonan
New Hubble pics - how exciting! The latest of the new Hubble pics is of a black hole, which they've captioned as being in need of a home.
To get these new Hubble pics a team of astronomers, all from Europe, combined the power of the Hubble Space Telescope with that of the VLT (Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Cerro Paranal.
|
- 3). How To Get The Most From Direct TV By : dave4
More and more, savvy consumers are choosing Direct TV over traditional cable. In fact, Direct TV is now the leading cable television provider in the United States and the largest satellite TV company in the entire world. Why are so many people choosing Direct TV over regular cable television For starters, Direct TV offers access to hundreds of channels, bringing a plethora of programming into private homes, apartments, condominiums, commercial properties, airports, bars, and restaurants, as well as numerous other locations.
|
- 4). Direct TV Total Choice Premier By : dave4
The Total Choice Premier Channel Package from DIRECTV includes practically every channel offered in the United States for a great price. You get all the sports channels, movie channels, news channels, shopping channels and tons of specialty and informational programming like “The Learning Channel” and “The Food Network.” You even get your local channels so you can see local news and local programming.
|
- 5). Is Dish TV a Valuable Alternative By : dave4
Are features offered by Dish TV making its Satellite TV service a valuable alternative? With interactive tools, guides, and myriad options made available to every subscriber, the offerings made by Dish TV cannot be surpassed. Moreover, the affordability of Dish TV’s services seems almost criminal when one considers all of the incredible options made available to them with Dish TV’s amazing features! In fact, it is no surprise that Dish TV has been deemed the number one Satellite TV company in terms of customer service by J.
|
- 6). What Is A Fossil? By : Claudia Mann
What is a fossil? While this is a simple question, the answer can be simple or a bit more complicated.
The short and sweet answer to that question is “A fossil is the remains or evidence of any creature or plant that lived on the earth in a past geologic age.”
But there are so many KINDS of fossils. A more important question for a curious student is “What kinds of fossils are there?” The answer to that question will take a bit more exploration.
|
- 7). Is Solar Power The Immediate Answer To Our Energy Woes ? By : L.Beauley
We are looking for an across-the-board solution for our present exorbitant consumption of gasoline and it seems as though there is none, at least for the present. We are looking at Ethanol additive to our present gasoline formulas, but this will only give us better miles per gallon and of course, much cleaner bi-products with its use. Ethanol becomes a temporary
fix.
|
- 8). The Energy Waste Dilemma By : L.Beauley
Date: 04-23-06
With the price of gasoline on the upswing(again, April 20, 06), there seems to be little sign that we Americans are at least trying to conserve fuel, though there are pockets of concerned groups that are making their voice heard, mainly against Oil Company price gouging. At the same time the automotive advertising media seems to be pushing the higher gas consumption Suv's and cars.
|
- 9). Energy Conservation By : L.Beauley
The Role We Can Each Play =========================
We can all play a part in lessening our reliance on fossil fuels.
A- Use low-energy lamps such as CFL replacements for as many incandescent lightbulbs as possible in our home or apartment.
B- Turn off all lamps in areas where they are not needed.
C- Turn down water heater temperature to between 120-125 degrees.
|
- 10). Talk About "Hidden" Costs...Technically Speaking By : L.Beauley
7:47 PM 4/24/2006
Author: Lucien Beauley
Lighting Facts...I Wanna Know !
Each one of us, at one time or another has either driven or been a passenger in an automobile and experienced our traffic control lighting system. Originally unique, but now part of a global system.
Situated at every fully functional traffic light intersection is at least one "Red" light which is timed to turn on and off regularly to "Stop" traffic.
|
|
|
