IAS - CSAT General Studies Question Bank - Q1
Question 1
Why is Venus the hottest planet in our solar system though Mercury is closer to Sun than Venus?
(a) strong gravitational pull of Venus attracts most radiation from the Sun
(b) Venus has no magnetic field and hence cannot reflect solar flares
(c) large amounts of greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, water vapour and sulfur dioxide) in the atmosphere of Venus traps solar radiation
(d) Venus rotates in the opposite direction of most other planets and hence exposes itself to sunspot activity
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Question 1
Why is Venus the hottest planet in our solar system though Mercury is closer to Sun than Venus?
Question 1 - Answer
large amounts of greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, water vapour and sulfur dioxide) in the atmosphere of Venus traps solar radiation
Question 1 - Explanation
Carbon dioxide rich atmosphere of Venus, along with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, generates the strongest greenhouse effect in the Solar System, creating surface temperatures of over 460 °C (860 °F). Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap Sun's infrared radiation and prevents it from reflecting back into space. A runaway greenhouse effect is what makes Venus even hotter than Mercury! The greenhouse gases present on Earth are also , though on a small scale, casuing earth's mean global temperature to raise triggering 'global warming' If unchecked, the hotter planet produces more greenhouse gases which trap more infrared radiation and over a period, the runaway greenhouse effect makes the planet too hot to support any life. That's what happened to Venus!
