Venus: The Peculiar Planet Where A Day Surpasses A Year

In the vast expanse of our Solar System, there lies an extraordinary planet where a single day outlives an entire year - Venus. The planet intriguingly completes a revolution around the Sun in 225 Earth days, a year on Venus, while it takes a staggering 243 Earth days for a full rotation around its axis, a day on Venus.

The perplexing slow rotation of Venus has become a crucial topic of scientific exploration. Various theories have been postulated to explain this anomaly, but none have gained universal acceptance so far. One such theory suggests that the Sun's gravitational pull exerted tidal forces on the dense and heavy Venusian atmosphere, which in turn slowed down the planet's rotation. This atmospheric density could have significantly impacted the planet's evolutionary trajectory.

However, this theory does not account for the peculiar fact that Venus's axis of rotation is tilted more than 177° from perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. This led to the hypothesis that Venus might have been struck by a protoplanet during its formation, causing the deceleration of its rotation and destabilizing its axis. After all, colossal collisions were a common occurrence during the early epochs of our Solar System. For instance, our Moon was formed as a result of a violent collision between the nascent Earth and a protoplanet.

As the second planet from the sun and the sixth largest in our solar system, Venus's year being shorter than its day is just one of its many eccentricities. The planet's mean temperature is a scorching 864 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest planet in the solar system. The Venusian landscape, visible to the naked eye, has been a subject of human fascination since ancient times. Its atmosphere, predominantly composed of carbon dioxide, is enveloped by a thick layer of clouds that trap heat, contributing to its extreme temperatures.

Recent studies suggest that Venus may have once hosted a habitable environment for an estimated 2 to 3 billion years, providing a window for life to potentially emerge. However, a massive resurfacing event that occurred approximately 700 million years ago led to a severe greenhouse effect, transforming Venus into the inhospitable, hot planet we know today. The cause of this drastic resurfacing event remains a mystery, underscoring the need for further explorations to unravel the enigmatic history and evolution of Venus.

Credit: Nasa, Venus express