“Venus: The Hottest Planet in the Solar System”

Jakarta –

The brightest and hottest planet in the solar system is Venus. The second closest planet to the Sun is often visible from Earth’s sky when it is bright & looks the brightest among the stars.

Because of their close proximity in the solar system, Venus and Earth are often called twins. Both also have similarities in size, mass, density, composition, and gravity.

However, Venus is only slightly smaller than planet Earth, with a mass of about 80% that of Earth. In addition, Venus is not a gas planet, but a rocky planet.

The interior of Venus is made of a metallic iron core that is approximately 2,400 miles (6,000 km) wide. Venus’ mantle of molten rock is roughly 1,200 miles (3,000 km) thick. Venus’ crust is mostly basalt and is estimated to be 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 km) thick.

The reason Venus is the brightest planet is because it is covered by clouds in its atmosphere which have a high reflection rate. These clouds contain tiny dots of sulfuric acid, so sunlight reflects easily off Venus’ clouds.

Why is Venus the Hottest Planet?

Even though Venus isn’t the closest planet to the Sun, its dense atmosphere can trap heat in a runaway version of the greenhouse effect.

As a result, the temperature on Venus reached 880 degrees Fahrenheit (471 degrees Celsius), which is more than hot enough to melt lead.

Even the spacecraft only lasted a few hours after landing on the planet before being destroyed.

Quoting the Space page, Venus’ current environment is the result of a “greenhouse effect” which allows its massive CO2 atmosphere to absorb the Sun’s heat and retain that heat over time like a greenhouse for flowers on Earth.

Venus’s surface is very dry

Extremely hot, Venus also has a chilling atmosphere, consisting mostly of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric acid and only a small amount of water.

Venus’s atmosphere is heavier than that of any other planet, resulting in a surface pressure more than 90 times Earth’s, similar to the pressure at a depth of 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) in the ocean.

In addition, the surface of Venus is also very dry. During the planet’s evolution, ultraviolet light from the Sun quickly evaporated water, keeping Venus in a prolonged liquid state.

There is no liquid water on its surface today due to the scorching heat created by its ozone-filled atmosphere which causes the water to boil immediately.

Approximately two-thirds of Venus’ surface is covered by flat, smooth plains marred by thousands of volcanoes. Some of these are still active today, ranging from 0.5 to 150 miles (0.8 to 240 km) wide, with carvings of lava flows, long and winding canals that are more than 3,000 miles (5,000 km) long.

Is There Life On Venus?

The scientific discoveries of 2020 have scientists discussing whether or not life might exist in Venus’ atmosphere.

Scientists think that most likely, billions of years ago, Venus was habitable and very similar to today’s Earth.

Since then, however, it has experienced a drastic greenhouse effect resulting in the current looping of Venus with extremely hot surface temperatures and an atmosphere that many people describe as “hell”.

Also in 2020, scientists uncovered the discovery of a strange chemical in planetary clouds that some think could be a sign of life: phosphine.

Phosphine is a chemical compound that has been seen on Earth as well as on Jupiter and Saturn. Scientists think that on Venus, it could appear just like on Earth, for a very short time in the planet’s atmosphere.

Because phosphine is also found with certain groups of microorganisms, some scientists think, on Earth, it is produced by microbes when they chemically decompose.

This has led some to suggest that, if microbes can make phosphine, they may be responsible for the phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere.

Since that discovery, there have been follow-up analyzes that cast some doubt as to whether or not the compound was made by microbes, but scientists are continuing to investigate, especially with new missions planned for the planet.

Scientists looked for evidence of microbial waste (or feces) in the 2022 study and found no evidence of any activity.

There are no spectral “fingerprints” indicating active life in the atmosphere, which makes the premise of life difficult to prove in the absence of more convincing evidence.

Watch Video “Cause of Planet Venus Hot as Hell“

(faz/nwk)