Venus+in+Blue,+Green,+and+Tan

Venus in Blue... Green, and Tan

 Welcome to Venus, or as I refer to her: Little Earth. She is said to be the brightest planet in the solar system, so she is the Valedictorian of the sky! Isn't she just beautiful? Yeah well, looks can be deceiving! She can be one angry planet! She is full of volcanic activity and is very hot! No tanning on this planet either because even SPF 4,000,000 won't help you on a planet that can melt lead! Venus seems to be trying to give the sun a run for its money in surface pressure, as well. She also does things a little backwards~ she spins in the opposite direction of most of her neighbors and painfully s-l-o-w-l-y. Because of her slow rotation, Venus doesn't have much of a magnetic pull. Therefore, we humans would just float right off if we tried inhabiting this planet. Yet, Venus has mountain ranges, cloud cover (weather systems), and is similar in size and mass to Earth, so we must be very careful not to mistake her for our planet when returning home.

**Distance from the sun:** About 108,000,000 km (about 67,000,000 miles). **Distance from Earth:** This distance varies between about 38,000,000 km (about 24,000,000 miles) to as far away as 261,000,000 km (about 162,000,000 miles). That is a big difference if walking that distance- between about 966 and 6524 times around Earth. The reason for the difference is that Earth and Venus orbit the sun in a much different pattern, putting each on different sides of the sun at different times. **Planetary Make-up:** It is very similar to Earth, often called Earth's twin. It's mantle is made up of the same compounds as Earth. However, its atmosphere is filled with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid rain. **Moons:** There are no moons (one of only three planets in the solar system to boast this), and there is no explanation as to why this is the case. **How the planet got its name:** It was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Although she can be a beautiful planet, she is also a very cruel one. Her winds top 200 miles an hour easily, and her surface temperatures can actually all but a very few metals.