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The surface of Venus contains over 200 channel systems and named valles which resemble terrestrial rivers. These channels vary in length and width and are commonly found in planar regions of the planet. Channel length and width ranges from the minimum resolution of Magellan imaging to over 6800 km long (Baltis Vallis) and up to 30 km wide ...
The surface of Venus is comparatively flat. When 93% of the topography was mapped by Pioneer Venus Orbiter, scientists found that the total distance from the lowest point to the highest point on the entire surface was about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), about the same as the vertical distance between the Earth's ocean floor and the higher summits of the Himalayas.
It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" due to their similar size, gravity, and bulk composition (Venus is both the closest planet to Earth and the planet closest in size to Earth). The surface of Venus is covered by a dense atmosphere and presents clear evidence of former violent volcanic activity.
During the mapping cycle 1 (left-looking) radar surface mapping on Venus (September 15, 1990 to May 15, 1991), around 70% of the Venusian surface was mapped by synthetic aperture radar. In cycle 2 (right-looking), 54.5% of the surface was mapped, mainly the south pole regions and gaps from cycle 1 during May 15, 1991 to January 14, 1992.
[90] [91] This makes the Venusian surface hotter than Mercury's, which has a minimum surface temperature of 53 K (−220 °C; −364 °F) and maximum surface temperature of 700 K (427 °C; 801 °F), [92] [93] even though Venus is nearly twice Mercury's distance from the Sun and thus receives only 25% of Mercury's solar irradiance, of 2,600 W/m ...
"Venus now has surface conditions that are extreme compared to Earth, with an atmospheric pressure 90 times greater, surface temperatures soaring to around 465°C (869°F), and a toxic atmosphere ...
The very first visible-light images of Venus' surface from space have been captured by NASA's Parker Solar Probe, and it could help researchers piece together the mysteries of the distant planet.
Earth's crust is continually recycled by subduction at the boundaries of tectonic plates, and has an average age of about 100 million years, while Venus' surface is estimated to be about 500 million years old. [16] Venusian craters range from 3 kilometres (2 mi) to 280 kilometres (174 mi) in diameter.