The most under-loved planet in our solar system

For a celestial object so close by, we know surprisingly little about the planet next door

Venus is more extraordinary than it gets credit for.
(Image credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA)

If you were to peer down on our solar system from a distance, you'd see three planets in the so-called "habitable zone" with a shot at harboring liquid water, and thus life. There's Earth, of course, the pale blue dot we call home. Then there's Mars, a small, cold planet with virtually no atmosphere, which is swarmed by robotic explorers and mapped in greater detail than our own ocean's floors. And then there's Venus, the second planet from the sun, and an enigma swathed in obscuring clouds, under-explored and unloved by modern solar system exploration.

Why haven't we explored Venus more? If it were a distant exoplanet, we'd coo about the fact that it's so similar to our home planet. We'd even experience something similar to Earth's gravity near Venus' surface! But since Venus is our closest neighbor, we know the planet as Earth's rebellious, toxic sibling. Still, some eerie similarities with Earth make Venus fascinating. Plus, how can you not love a planet that casually melts lead and crunches probes like soda cans, yet might harbor life in its acidic clouds?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Mika McKinnon

Mika McKinnon is a freelance science writer. She's a master of disaster, a scifi science consultant, and an irrepressible educator. Her writing has appeared in io9, New Scientist, Physics Today, and other outlets. Follow her latest adventures at @mikamckinnon.