Venus, also called the Morning Star and Evening Star, is the second-closest planet to the sun and the brightest object in the night sky. The planet orbits the sun every two hundred and twenty four Earth-days and is sometimes referred to as Earths sister planet because the two share both a similar size and bulk. What is not similar, however, is Venuss atmosphere in comparison to Earths atmosphere. The atmosphere on Venus is much heavier and has a higher density than that of Earth. Venuss atmosphere also expands significantly higher than Earths atmosphere although a thick cloud cover makes the surface of Venus nearly impossible to see unless observed through radar mapping. While the pressure and temperature of Venuss upper atmosphere are comparable to those of Earth, the heat and pressure of the lower atmosphere are not unlike a furnace. Venuss atmosphere is very thick due to a composition consisting mainly of carbon dioxide, and a small amount of nitrogen. If man could survive the extreme heat of Venuss surface (400 degrees Celsius), then he would have to contend with a surface pressure that is more than 90 times that of Earth. Venuss extremely high temperature is thanks to the greenhouse effect caused by such a large amount of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse effect is a process by which the suns infrared radiation is more readily absorbed by the atmosphere. Just like in a real greenhouse used to grow plants years round, the proliferation of carbon dioxide traps radiation and warms Venuss atmosphere. Due to this phenomenon, Venus boasts a higher atmospheric temperature than Mercury, even though Venus is twice the distance from the sun.
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