Why is Venus the hottest planet? Venus is a terrestrial planet and is the second closest planet to the sun. It would seem logical that Mercury the closest planet to the sun would be the hottest of all of the planets. Mercury is very hot with high temperatures of + 840 °F (+ 449°C) but also on the side of Mercury facing away from the sun it gets very cold - 275 °F (- 170°C) This is because Mercury has a very thin atmosphere and cannot trap in the heat. The thin atmosphere is similar to you wearing shorts and a t-shirt at the beach. The heat is not trapped next to your skin.
Venus, on the other hand, has temperatures of + 870 °F (+ 465°C)
This is hot, hot, hot. Remember, water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 Celcius and lead melts at 621 Fahrenheit 327 celsius
Why is Venus so hot. First, it is the second closest planet to the sun.
Venus is 0.723 AU 67.2 million miles 108.2 million km from the sun compared to
Earth which 1 AU 93 million miles 149.6 million km
This alone causes Venus to be hot. However, it is hotter than Mercury. The atmosphere of Venus is made up almost completely of carbon dioxide. It also includes small doses of nitrogen and clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmosphere is so thick on the surface it would feel 90 times heavier than Earth's atmosphere. The surface pressures are similar to diving 3,000 feet beneath the ocean. This thick atmosphere traps in the heat close to the surface in the same way a thick jacket traps heat next to your skin.
