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> Earth and Venus compared

Earth and Venus compared

author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix

reference: a-sys98-00030

Image Size 300 DPI: 33 * 22 cm

This to-scale image suggests how the Earth and Venus might appear without their atmospheres. Venus' diameter is 86% that of the Earth's. It has 82% the mass. If you weigh 180 pounds on the Earth, you would weigh 163 pounds on Venus. Venus is about three-quarters the Earth's distance from the Sun. While Venus is roughly the same size and density as the Earth, it is otherwise a very different world. Earth's surface is a varied one, with liquid water covering three quarters of its surface. Those areas not under water have been highly modified by plate tectonics, weather, and life itself. Venus on the other hand is far too hot to host liquid water. Volcanoes, massive lava flows and the occasional impact crater characterize its surface. Latest observations suggest that Venus may periodically resurface itself completely--and catastrophically--through massive, planet-wide volcanic eruptions. The last such resurfacing "event" appears to have occurred about 500 million years ago.

Keywords for this photo:

ASTRONOMY - COMPARISON - EARTH - GLOBAL VIEW - ILLUSTRATION - PLANET - SIZE - SOLAR SYSTEM - VENUS -