Cool facts about Venus as it passes in front of sun

CLEVELAND - 1. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. Its surface temperature is a whopping 752 degrees F! Why? Venus has an extremely thick atmosphere, which consists mainly of carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen. The pressure at the planet's surface is about 90 times that at Earth's surface—a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of 1 kilometer under Earth's oceans. The enormously CO2-rich atmosphere generates a strong greenhouse effect that raises the surface temperature to over 400 °C (752°F). This makes Venus' surface hotter than Mercury's, even though Venus is nearly twice as distant from the Sun and receives only 25% of the solar rays that Mercury does.

2. The diameter of Venus is 12,100 km (7,522 miles)

3. The interior of Venus is composed of a central iron core and a molten rocky mantle, similar to the composition of Earth.

4. The surface of Venus is very dry with flat plains, highland regions, and depressions.

5. Venus is the sixth largest planet in the Solar System

6. Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun. Mercury is the closest.

7. Planet Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

8. The atmosphere of Venus is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (96%) and nitrogen (3%), with traces of other gases and little to no water vapor.

9. Similar in size, density, and mass, Venus and Earth often referred to as sister planets.

10. The orbital speed of Venus is 35 km per second.

11. Maximum distance of Venus from the Sun is 109 million km (68 million miles)

12. Minimum distance of Venus from the Earth is 40 million km (25 million miles)

13. Venus is one of the brightest objects in the sky, next to the Sun and Moon.

14. It takes 243 days for Venus to rotate on its axis.

15. The surface of Venus may have been formed by a lot of volcanic activity. It is said to have 167 volcanoes that measure up to 100 km across.

16. If you weigh 100 lbs, your weight on Venus would be 88 lbs. (multiply your actual weight by 0.88).
(h/t Planet Facts)