Essay on Venus: Solar System and Enormous Red Heads

Submitted By jdaniels2
Words: 337
Pages: 2
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The most intriguing aspect of Venus in my opinion, is that it's sidereal days (time scale that is based on the Earth's rotation measured relative to the fixed stars) outlasts it's years. This is because it takes Venus longer to rotate on its axis, due to its retrograde (counterclockwise) rotation, than it does for it to revolve around the sun. It takes 243 Earth days for Venus to complete one full rotation on its axis, and just 224.7 Earth days to make one full revolution around the sun. The length of a solar day (passage of time based on the suns position in the sky) however, is quite a bit shorter than its sidereal day at just 116.75 Earth days and due to Venus's retrograde motion, the sun rises in the West and sets in the East.
Rocks that range in size from a boulder to a grain of sand, are called meteoroids. They are composed of a number of different substances including; ice and iron. Meteoroids travel at very fast speeds in orbit around the sun. When that meteoroid or other interplanetary debris passes through our atmosphere, it burns up and creates a flash of light. This is commonly referred to as a meteor or "shooting star," and they are clearly visible from Earth under the ideal conditions. If any portion of that meteoroid lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite. This is also applicable to asteroids and comets. Meteorites are comprised of many different elements and if large enough, are capable of affecting our landscape. Asteroids are large rocks (remnants
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