Eli5: Venus is the second planet from The Sun, Mercury is first. Why is Venus still the hotttest planet in the Solar System?
In: Planetary Science
Mercury doesn’t have much of an atmosphere compared to Venus’ super dense atmosphere.
The atmosphere holds onto heat like a blanket. So Venus’s “blanket” holds onto the heat from the sun, while the heat from the sun on Mercury just escapes into space.
Imagine it’s super duper cold out and two people are sitting around a campfire. One is right next to the fire but is just wearing a tshirt and shorts. The other person is a bit further away from the fire but wrapped in lots of nice warm blankets. The person further away with the blankets will be warmer. Fire is the sun, and the two people are Mercury and Venus. (It’s not a perfect analogy because in this instance the people are also producing their own body heat which planets don’t do. But gives a good visual.)
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