| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Venus transits across the sun | very rare |
| transit of 1769 | astronomers determined the size of our solar system |
| Venus' rotation | very slow (243 days, it's orbital period is only 224 days); it also rotates backwards in retrograde motion |
| how rotation period was determined | using radarsignals |
| Venus' atmospheric change over time | "runaway greenhouse" effect: Venus had water long ago (sun was also dimmer), begins to heat up, water evaporates, atmosphere heats up, soon all water evaporates (no water cycle), gets hotter, carbon dioxide gets baked out of rocks, gets hotter, volcanoes release more greenhouse gases, gets even hotter (no water cycle or plate tectonics to get rid of CO2) |
| Venus weather system | two large cells (N/South cells) moves air from equatorial regions to the poles (Venus rotates so slow there's not much of a difference); high winds in the upper clouds |
| Venus is mapped by... | radar |
| Venusian surface features | Volcanoes (shield)! Coronae (collapsed volcanic domes), Arachnoids (web of fractures[volcanic feature]), large impact craters |
| impact craters on Venus | Large, randomly "placed," no young or old portions of Venus (a single plate) |
| internal structure of Venus | lithosphere (solid upper layer [thin]-flake tectonics), mantel |
Combine with other sets
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