Astronomy for Kids: Interesting and Little Known Facts about Venus

So, you are a kid who likes to see the night sky filled up with beautiful and twinkling stars? Do you want to know what they are actually and what they are made up of? Astronomy for kids helps you explore the intricate facts about the sky, sun, moon and the Milky Way. If grabbing a telescope and exploring the skies is rewarding for you then given here is some interesting facts about a beautiful planet called Venus.

You weigh the same on Venus as on Earth

Because Venus and Earth both are of the same size, you would weigh approximately the same on Venus as you weigh on Earth. If your weight is 32 kg or 70 pounds on Earth, you will weigh 63 pounds or 29 kg on Venus.

Venus has an atmosphere:

Venus is a planet which has been little explored and rather misunderstood. If you are studying astronomy and need to prepare astronomy worksheets then do not forget to mention that Venus has an atmosphere just like our Planet Earth. But, the atmosphere of Venus is much thicker than the Earth, making it difficult to explore but recently scientists have peeked through its thick clouds to get some glimpses of its surface. Many of the volcanoes and mountains on Earth appeared misshapen just like the volcanoes of Earth.

Venus is Earth’s sister:

Venus is identical to Earth in many ways and there would be no exaggeration to term Venus as Earth’s sister. Venus is made from the same types of materials as the Earth and those materials are present in approximately the same quantities. It has volcanoes, sand and mountains like Earth. The only difference is the fact that the temperature is immensely high on Venus and the atmosphere contains carbon-di-oxide mainly so no living creatures can ever exist or survive on this planet.

All water of Venus has evaporated to the atmosphere due to global warming:

About 4 billion years ago it was difficult to trace out any difference between Earth and Venus as they were exactly the same. But, it has been a rarely mentioned fact that over a period of a few million years, it has taken a different course.

The plant lies much closer to the Sun than Earth. It is this fact that has caused incessant chain of events and Venus became a fiery place. An immensely warm temperature of Venus causes water to evaporate and the water vapor in the atmosphere increases causing a cycle of global warming. Water vapor is essential for soaking the greenhouse gases of the atmosphere and prevents them from escaping into space. The increase in water vapor content caused the temperature to incline further that causes more water to evaporate and the temperature escalates.

Most of the water of Venus has evaporated to the atmosphere and the atmosphere of the planet traps the energy of Sun effectively and causes the surface to burn like a furnace. The temperature here can reach up to 900 degrees.

Venus is dry and has no ozone layer protection:

Our planet has a protective layer called Ozone layer. This is an important shield which protects the Earth from the UV rays of the Sun. This results in Ultraviolet radiation of the Sun to penetrate the atmosphere of Venus. Over the period of billion years the radiation has broken down the water molecules into oxygen and water so today hardly any water is left on Venus.

A day on Venus lasts more than 100 days on Earth:

There is something strange about the rotation of Venus that many people are not aware about. It rotates very slowly as compared to Earth so slowly that a day on Venus lasts more than 100 days on Earth. It also rotates in the opposite direction unlike the other planets. The Sun on Earth rises in the east and sets in the west, the Sun on Venus appears rising in the west and sets in the East.

Astronomy for Kids is an interesting subject. Knowing intricate and interesting things about the sky and its objects help in their wholesome growth.