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Venus: Crash Course Astronomy #14 episode artwork

Nov 5, 2026 15 min

Venus: Crash Course Astronomy #14

from CrashCourse Hosted by CrashCourse

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 http://www.squarespace.com/crashcourseCheck out the Crash Course Astronomy solar system poster here: http://store.dftba.com/products/crashcourse-astronomy-poster--Chapters: Introduction: Venus 00:00Venus's Phases 0:55Transit of Venus 1:31Venus's Atmosphere 3:06How did Venus get so hot? 4:13Venus's Slow Rotation & Retrograde Motion 6:02Venus's Spherical Structure 7:09Venus's Surface 7:48Volcanic Activity on Venus 8:31Review 10:04--PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudiosFollow Phil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/badastronomerCrash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourseWant to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourseTwitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourseInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecrashcourse/CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids--PHOTOS/VIDEOSNaked-eye Venus photo taken by Phil PlaitPhases of Venus http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phases-of-Venus2.jpg [credit: Wikimedia Commons]2012 Venus Transit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34mXua1n_FQ [credit: NASA]Black drop effect in 2004 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_drop_effect#mediaviewer/File:BlackDrop-Venus-Transit.jpg [credit: Vesta]Venus Transit http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/657111main_1-SOT_120606_venus_ca_nc_yellow_001_color_full.jpg [credit: JAXA/NASA/Lockheed Martin]Venus in real colors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#mediaviewer/File:Venus-real_color.jpg [credit: NASA]Earth http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=57723 [credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Image by Reto Stöckli]Venus http://www.msss.com/images/science/venus180hem_magellan_big.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Magellan Project]Atmospheric Drag on Venus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRAonBSIBck [credit: NASA]Lakshmi Planum and Maxwell Montes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_snow#mediaviewer/File:Maxwell_Montes_of_planet_Venus.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL]Artist's impression of the surface of Venus http://sci.esa.int/science-e-media/img/59/VenusSurface.jpg [credit: ESA]Venera Images http://planetimages.blogspot.com/ [credit: Ted Stryk]Venus Globe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#mediaviewer/File:Venus_globe.jpg [credit: NASA]Impact craters on the surface of Venus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#mediaviewer/File:Mgn_p39146.png [credit: Wikimedia Commons]Idunn Mons http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA13001_fig1.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA]Pancake Volcanoes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_dome#mediaviewer/File:PIA00084_Eistla_region_pancake_volcanoes.jpg [credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

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Venus: Crash Course Astronomy #14

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