Venus is the second planet from the Sun.
It is 108 million kilometres from the Sun.
Venus is the only planet that spins backwards.
It takes Venus 225 days to orbit the Sun.
The planet has no moons.
Venus is the closest planet to Earth.
It is the sixth largest of the eight planets.
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What is it like on Venus?
Clouds of poisonous carbon dioxide gases hide the surface of Venus.
Winds blow across the rocky, dry surface.
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. This is because the clouds of carbon dioxide gas trap the heat of the sun. (the greenhouse effect)
There are some large mountains and probably some volcanoes there.
How do we know?
A spacecraft named Magellan, also called the Venus Radar Mapper, arrived at Venus in 1990. The spacecraft cameras have taken photographs and sent them back to Earth. Astronomers and scientists on Earth have studied the photographs and tell us this information.
See photographs from spacecraft Magellan:
http://www.universetoday.com/14131/pictures-of-planet-venus/
Naming Venus
Ancient Greek astronomers called this planet Hesperus when it was seen in the morning, and Phosphorus when seen in the evening. The Romans named it Venus after the goddess of love and beauty.
It is always a good idea to use more than one source of information, so here are some others for you to investigate
Read more about Venus
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus
