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Thick greenhouse gases trap heat to make Venus hotter than Mercury. The figure is taken from NASA Science, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system

Thick greenhouse gases trap heat to make Venus hotter than Mercury

Although Mercury sits closer to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet with surface temperatures around 465 degrees Celsius. Its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulphuric acid trap thermal energy in a runaway greenhouse effect capable of melting lead.

PIA00271 Venus (Computer Simulated Global View of the Northern Hemisphere) — NASA/JPL · Public domain · source

Where this comes from

NASA Science

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Venus rotates backwards relative to most solar system planetsOn Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east A day on Venus is longer than its yearVenus turns so slowly that its day outlasts its trip around the Sun Mercury experiences extreme surface temperature swingsWithout a thick atmosphere Mercury swings from scorching days to freezing nights The Sun outer corona is hundreds of times hotter than its surfaceWhile the solar surface sits at 5,500 degrees C the corona reaches millions Shivering generates internal heat through rapid muscle twitchesInvoluntary muscle contractions burn energy to maintain stable body temperature Specialised thermoreceptors detect temperature changes in skinDistinct nerve endings register cold and warm thermal stimuli independently

Tags: venus, temperature, greenhouse

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Thick greenhouse gases trap heat to make Venus hotter than Mercury. The figure is taken from NASA Science, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a space fact?: Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.