eli5: Why has Venus’ atmosphere so much more pressure than Earth’s atmosphere?

Question

There must be some factor other than gravity that contributes to an atmosphere’s pressure level because Earth and Venus have almost the same mass.

In: 3

Answer 1

Imagine Venus as a planet with a very thick blanket of air around it. This blanket is called the atmosphere. The atmosphere on Venus is much thicker and heavier than the atmosphere on Earth, which means there is a lot more pressure.

There are a few reasons why Venus has so much more atmospheric pressure than Earth. One reason is that Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, so it receives more heat and energy from the Sun. This extra heat causes the gases in Venus’ atmosphere to move faster and collide with each other more frequently, creating higher pressure.

Another reason is that Venus has a lot of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, trap heat from the Sun and keep it near the planet’s surface. This makes Venus very hot, much hotter than Earth. The high temperature causes the air molecules to move faster and increases the pressure.

Also, Venus does not have oceans like Earth does. On Earth, water in the oceans helps regulate the temperature and absorb some of the Sun’s energy. Without oceans, Venus doesn’t have this balancing effect, and the atmosphere is free to absorb and trap more heat, resulting in higher pressure.