Venus: Crash Course Astronomy #14

Venus is a gorgeous naked-eye planet, hanging like a diamond in the twilight -- but its beauty is best looked at from afar. Even though Mercury is closer to the sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, due to a runaway greenhouse effect, and has the most volcanic activity in the solar system. Its north and south poles were flipped, causing it to rotate backward and making for very strange days on this beautiful but inhospitable world. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace -- Table of Contents Venus’s Size and Atmosphere 3:09 Hottest Planet in the Solar System 4:04 Slow Clockwise Rotation 6:02 Tremendous Volcanic Activity 8:31 -- PBS Digital Studios: Follow Phil on Twitter: Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook -