The second closest planet to the sun, Venus shines its bright glow as the morning star.
Covered by layers of sweeping clouds that rise up to 60 km above the planet's surface, which contain droplets of sulfuric acid, only recently have infrared detectors been able to scan through the opaque view. Openings, however, show a view of a world underneath at Venus' north and south poles.
The atmospheric pressure is only one tenth of that on Earth and a surface pressure of 96 bars. Clouded, Venus maintains a constant planetary surface temperature of 459 degrees Celcius, independent of day or night. Filtering the sun's light energy, Venus' clouds promote a continual deep freeze throughout the planet.
Ninety-seven percent of Venus' atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, compared Earth's seventy-eight percent nitrogen composition. Continuing, since Venus is closer to the Sun it experienced a runaway green-house effect that caused the primitive oceans to evaporate into the clouds.