Venus is the second planet in the Solar System (Mercury is nearer to the sun). To see Venus, go outside with a responsible adult and look west. That's in the same direction that the sun sets. When the sun has set you will see a really bright star-like object shining away - that's Venus.  A word of warning: never look directly at the sun, with or without telescopes. It is very dangerous.
Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System. Why is Venus so bright? 
If you visit one of the local observatories you too can look through a large telescope! |
The reason Venus is so bright in our sky is because of two things. The first is that it's quite close to the Earth which makes it seem brighter. The second reason is that Venus is covered in cloud. You know what it's like here on Earth when it's cloudy, it's really dull. But have you ever been up in an aeroplane on holiday and flown above the clouds? If you have, you'll know how bright and fluffy the clouds look. It's because they bounce a lot of the incoming sunlight back out into space. As Venus is covered in thick cloud, it too bounces a lot of sunlight back into space and so it looks really bright. Fancy a holiday on Venus? While Venus is bright and easy to find, it wouldn't be a very nice place to go for your holidays. Because of the thick cloud, a lot of the heat that does get through to the surface cannot escape so it gets hotter and hotter. The temperature on the surface is five times hotter than really hot water. Imagine that in the summer - even t-shirt and shorts would be too hot. In fact, you'd probably melt! It rains on Venus too, just like the rain on Earth. But the rain on Venus is not made of water, it's made of sulphuric acid. This is a horrible liquid that melts everything it touches! So, if your parents are talking about next year's holiday and they talk about going to Venus, take my advice and stay at home! Find out more on how Venus passed in front of the sun » Got a question about Venus? Ask our astronomy expert, Mark» | 
