Craters Essay

Venus' similarities with the planet earth make scientists believe that they also have the same type of structure, with an interior core, mantle and crust. The structure of Venus was shaped by volcanic activity. The surface is about 300 to 600 million years old.

These planets evolved so differently, because of their space from the sun. Making Venus hotter than earth and causing changes to the

Venus + Mars: Compare and contrast the evolution of the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, and Earth.

It is believed that only 55% of Mercury has been mapped, however, that 55% has yielded a number of interesting finds, there are three significant geological features on Mercury, these are: smooth plains, intercrater plains and rugged highlands. The smooth plains resemble Lunar Maria, that is, large dark basaltic plains formed by ancient volcanic eruption, found on the Earth’s moon. The Intercrater Plains are impact craters, pocked with a number of smaller craters, which cover 70% of the examined surface. These craters are particularly deep, due to the planets lack of an atmosphere to slow the bodies before impact. The rugged highlands resemble mountainous regions of the Earth; however, there is no evidence of tectonic motions to have caused them. Mercury is made up of predominately iron, its crust is only 500-600km thick and there is evidence of volcanic activity, although it is believed that the planet has been geologically dormant for billions of years.

The air is not breathable by humans! Venus's atmosphere also contains traces of extra compounds and elements, such as neon, argon, carbon monoxide, and helium. Atmospheric pressure is over 90 times heavier than that of Earth; sheer crushing power. Clouds of sulfuric acid lay above a layer of carbon dioxide near the crust. These sulfuric clouds block most Muggle attempts to see Venus. On Venus, the climate changes all the time, from an extremely cold temperature to an extremely hot one. The temperature ranges from -364 to 870 degrees Fahrenheit. Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System, and yet it is Mercury that is the closest planet to the Sun, Venus being second in

be more than 90 times heavier than on planet Earth. Although Venus is not the closest

It also includes small amounts of other gases, such as carbon monoxide, argon, neon, and helium. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is over 90 times heavier than that on Earth. Over a thick layer of carbon dioxide closest to the surface are layers of clouds of sulfuric acid, which have obstructed Muggle attempts to observe Venus closely. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, and this is due to the effect of runaway greenhouse gases, which left a permanent mark on the planet’s climate. Venus’s temperature ranges from -364 to 870 degrees Fahrenheit. Venus is one of the brightest planets in the sky, and this is due in part to its clouds, which are highly

Venus' atmosphere is made up of mostly carbon dioxide and some nitrogen. There are also traces of carbon monoxide, argon, helium and neon on the planet. All of these elements make Venus' atmospheric pressure more then 90 percent heavier then the Earth. Closest to the surface is a layer of carbon dioxide, which is covered by a layer of clouds which makes it hard to make out the planet.

Mercury's surface geology is much like the Moon's. Although, Mercury is a much denser planet and has a much larger liquid iron core. Mercury's surface is also covered in lava plains and impact craters. Some of Mercury's craters are also filled with lava from Mercury's interior. Although only 55% percent of Mercury's surface has been mapped by scientists. Craters can be bowl shaped or huge impact craters. The largest crater on Mercury's surface is called the Caloris Basin. There have been about 15 identified impact craters on Mercury's surface. Similar to the Moon's surface, the largest craters have bright rays of material. The reason these are bright is because they have not been as weathered by other impacts. Mercury's poles have a large deposit of ice water on them. That is why Mercury's surface geology is unique.

There are some characteristics that Venus does have on the ground. “More than a thousand volcanoes or volcanic centers larger than 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter dot the surface of Venus. Volcanic flows have produced long, sinuous channels extending for hundreds of kilometers.” (Science.NationalGeographic.com para. 8 n.d). The landmass on Venus is potholed by small craters by meteor or comet strikes. “Most of Venus is covered with smooth volcanic plains, with two large "continents" standing out. Ishtar Terra lies to the north, covering an area approximately the size of Australia, while the Africa-sized Aphrodite Terra lies just south of the equator.” (Reed para. 4 2012). Unfortunately not much is known about the surface features, however, we know there are wind swept dunes and volcanoes. The land masses on Venus unlike Earth does not sit on hard rock or water like the continents do on the Earth and Mars; Venus however, is far too hot for water and heavy metals would melt due to the heat. The continents on Venus float on liquid magma. Some scientists theorize that 500 million years ago an incident happened that stopped any kind of plate

The planet's atmosphere is also surrounded by thick, acidic, sulfuric clouds. The atmospheric pressure is approximately 90 times that of Earth, and the atmosphere is made up mainly of carbon dioxide, with the remaining 3.5% taken up with nitrogen and a few other elements. The thick sulfuric clouds surrounding the planet make it difficult to view the surface with any accuracy, and the huge pressure and heat below the clouds mean that the atmosphere is not conducive for human-made crafts to survive in the climate. Venus's atmosphere is in constant circulation of the planet, circling it in a mere 4 Earth days. The winds near the atmosphere of Venus are approximately 220mph in order to facilitate this speedy atmospheric rotation, although the winds on the surface are much much slower. In summary, Venus would be a bad (and unpleasant) choice for human habitation, due to enormous levels of atmospheric pressure, very high temperatures, and sulfuric acid

CO2 tends to remain in the atmosphere for a very long time. Water vapor, on the other hand, can easily condense or evaporate, depending on conditions. Water vapor levels therefore tend to adjust quickly to the prevailing conditions, such that the energy flows from the Sun and re-radiation from the Earth achieve a balance. CO2 tends to remain fairly constant and therefore behave as a controlling factor, rather than a reacting factor. More CO2 means that the balance occurs at higher temperatures and water vapor levels.

Despite the fact that Venus has volcanoes and lava on the surface, no changes in temperature have been documented. Venus is 67.24 million miles away from the sun,is the second planet from the sun,

Venus has a very thick atmosphere a hundred times thicker than earth's. It is made up of almost entirely carbon dioxide. The atmosphere is protected with a very thick cloud cover, much of it is sulfur dioxide clouds. Earth's atmosphere is unique and made up of mainly nitrogen and oxygen. The reason that we have so much of those two gases and pick up oxygen is actually due to life on earth. Also, it is the only planet that has an ozone layer that blocks harmful UV radiation. Mars does have an atmosphere, although it's close to a hundred times thinner than earth's. In the case of mars it's so thin that there is not really much going on. There are occasional dust storms, it actually engulfs the entire planet. One other very important difference

The surface has volcanoes and smooth plains. " Much of the volcanic activity on Venus takes the form of Basaltic eruptions that inundate large ares, much as the mare volcanism flooded the impacted basins on the near side of the moon " (Morrison, 93,