The interior of Venus.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original image
Inside Venus
Venus is a slightly smaller than the Earth, with a radius 95% that of
Earth (12,103 km) and a mass 81% that of Earth. If we could walk around
on the surface of the planet (without being killed by the toxic blast
furnace of an
atmosphere), gravity would be close to
that on the
surface of Earth.
The interior of Venus is probably similar to
Earth's
interior. Venus,
like Earth, is one of the terrestrial planets and is
made of rock and metal. It probably has a partly molten metallic core, a
rocky mantle, and a crust. The planet rotates very slowly, taking more
than 243 Earth days to spin once on it's axis (even longer than the time
it takes for Venus to orbit the Sun, about 225 Earth days).
This may be the reason the planet
doesn't have a magnetic field like
many of the other planets, including
Earth.
The varied terrain
of Venus, including volcanoes, mountains, craters, and lava flows, suggests
that the planet was once, and perhaps still is, geologically active.
But basic questions about the interior of Venus remain, such as the
thickness of the lithosphere.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as
books on science education!
You might also be interested in:
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's closest neighbor in the solar system. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and sometimes looks like a bright star
...more
Sometimes Venus passes between Earth and the Sun. This event is called a transit of Venus. Transits of Venus don't happen very often. There is a pattern in the time between transits of Venus. The pattern
...more
Sometimes the planet Venus gets between Earth and the Sun. Astronomers call that a "transit" of Venus. A transit is a little bit like an eclipse of the Sun, when the Moon gets between Earth and the Sun.
...more
Venus is the hottest planet in our Solar System. On Earth, places near the equator are much warmer than places near the poles. On Venus, it is really hot everywhere... even at the North and South Poles.
...more
A vortex is a swirling, circular movement of air and clouds... like in a tornado or hurricane. The plural form of vortex is "vortices". The planet Venus has vortices in its atmosphere above each of its
...more
The following may be the history of Venus. Venus formed about 4 Billion Years ago. at the conclusion of forming it continued to be bombarded with leftover material. Many planets still bear the remains
...more
This is an example of a volcanic tick.
...more
