Even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. This is because Mercury has almost no atmosphere, while Venus has a very thick atmosphere. This causes all the heat to be radiated back into space on Mercury. However, the heat is trapped on Venus, with the average temperature being 462°C.
The degree of hotness of a planet does not depend on as much on closeness to the Sun as on its atmosphere. Carbon dioxide has the tendency to absorb heat which in turn increases the temperature.
Mercury’s atmosphere does not contain carbon dioxide (because of which all the heat is returned to space). Venus contains a high percentage of carbon dioxide due to which it is hottest planet.
In ancient times, Venus was often thought to be two different stars, the evening star and the morning star — that is, the ones that first appeared at sunset and sunrise. In Latin, they were respectively known as Vesper and Lucifer. In Christian times, Lucifer, or “light-bringer,” became known as the name of Satan before his fall. However, further observations of Venus in the space age show a very hellish environment. This makes Venus a very difficult planet to observe from up close, because spacecraft do not survive long on its surface.
Picture Credit : Google
