Venus

Venus © National Maritime Museum, London

Repro ID: Venus_nasa

Description: The second planet from the Sun. It it is the closest in size to the Earth with a diameter of 12104 kilometres. Its orbit around the Sun takes 224.7 days. Venus is covered by a dense carbon dioxide cloud that rains sulphuric acid. The cloud travels at speeds of 350 km/hr. The 'greenhouse effect' from this carbon dioxide layer heats the rocky surface of Venus to a temperature of 470°C.

Creator: NASA

Date: 2004