Searching for random facts and trivia about the planet Venus? Are you working on a science report about the planet Venus? Are you writing a lesson plan about the solar system and need information about Venus? If so, here are a few fun facts about the planet Venus for kids.
Venus is a very hot planet.
It is twice as hot on Venus as what it would take to bake some cookies! It is very, very hot on Venus. The surface temperature is about 864 degree fahrenheit.
Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love.
The ancient Romans named the planets they could see in the sky. Venus was named thousands of years ago by them. It’s symbol is the sign for “female.”
Venus is covered with a very thick layer of clouds.
It’s always cloudy on Venus. The entire planet is covered with a layer of thick clouds. The clouds are made of sulfuric acid.. These heavy, yellow clouds trap the heat from the sun, which is why the planet is so hot.
If you landed on Venus, you could be crushed from the pressure of the atmosphere.
The pressure of Venus’s atmosphere is very, very strong. If a spaceship landed on Venus, it would be crushed and possible flattened from the atmosphere. The air on Venus is about 90 times heavier than the air on Earth. The atmosphere on Venus is made mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen,carbon monoxide, argon, water vapor and sulfur dioxide. About 97% of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide.
There is a large, dried-up river bed on Venus.
Astronomers have discovered that there is a very large riverbed on Venus that is longer than any river on Earth. It is possible that water (probably at the boiling point) flowed through this many, many years ago.
There is no trace of water on Venus.
Venus is one of the driest planets in the solar system and there is no amount of water in any form on the planet.
Venus is the closest planet to Earth.
Venus is the nearest neighbor to Earth. At it’s closest point, it is approximately 26 million miles away. Venus is about 67 million miles from the sun.
Venus is nearly the same size as Earth.
Venus is very close in size to the Earth. Sometimes Venus is referred to as the Earth’s twin. They are also both made of mostly metal and rock. But, of course the planets are very different in their atmosphere, temperature and of course, sign of life
Venus has mountains, valleys, craters and canyons.
Venus has numerous canyons, many of them named after women. About 65% is flat land. It also has mountains, valleys, canyons and craters. The craters were probably formed with asteroid collisions.
The length of a day on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days.
All planets spin around on an invisible axis. The Earth spins around in about 24 hours, making that one day. However, it takes Venus about 243 Earth days to spin around completely. Therefore, a “day” on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days.
Venus orbits around the sun in approximately 225 Earth days.
All planets orbit, or travel around, the sun. It takes Venus about 225 Earth days to move around the sun. It takes the Earth about 365 days, one full year, to orbit around the sun. Therefore a year on Venus is about 225 Earth days.
Venus was the first planet to be viewed by a spacecraft.
Another fun fact about Venus is that it is the first one to have data collected by a spacecraft. On December 14, 1962, the Mariner (a US spacecraft) traveled within 21,600 miles of Venus. It measured characteristics of Venus, such as the temperature.
These are just a handful of facts about the planet Venus. Want to learn some more random facts about planets? Check out “10 Mars Facts for Kids.” and “Facts for Kids About the Planet Mercury.” Happy Learning!
Sources:
Venus by Elaine Landau
Exploring the Solar System by Mary Kay Carson
11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System by David A. Aguilar
http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/venus_worldbook.html
http://www.windows2universe.org/venus/atmosphere.html
