Venus
Printable
version
March
27, 2000
Announcements
-
Turn
in homework #4
-
Solutions
to homework #4 on web later today
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Drop
date this Friday, March 31
-
Next
Honors section:
-
Wed
April 5 (weather permitting) probably at 7:30pm or later
Venus
Preview
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Venus
overview
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Observing
Venus from Earth
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Retrograde
rotation: puzzle
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CO2
in Venus' atmosphere causes greenhouse effect
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Average
surface temperature hotter than Mercury's!
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Structure,
composition of Venus' atmosphere
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History
of Venus' atmosphere
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The
surface of Venus
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no
plate tectonics
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several
volcanos
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some
local crust motions
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not
many craters
Venus
Overview
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Venus
is similar in size, density, surface gravity to Earth
Observing
Venus from Earth
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Venus reflects 76% of sunlight
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compare 12% for Mercury
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Mercury is closer to sun,
brighter
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Greatest elongations are
47 degrees
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visible for ~3 hours after
sunset or before sunrise
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easier to see than Mercury
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Ring-like appearance at inferior
conjection evidence for atmosphere
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similar to why moon turns
orange in lunar eclipse
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Featureless ball to optical
earth telescopes
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evidence for complete cloud
cover
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high albedo (reflectance)
also evidence for clouds
Retrograde
Rotation
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Venus rotates backwards
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Retrograde rotation is unusual
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Uncertain of cause
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formation likely prograde
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hit by planetesimal?
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sidereal period 243.01 earth
days (slow!)
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orbital period 224.70
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