What causes Venus to be hotter than Mercury despite being farther from the Sun?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the comparative temperatures of Venus and Mercury, focusing on the reasons why Venus, despite being farther from the Sun, is hotter. The subject area includes planetary science and thermodynamics, particularly the effects of atmospheric composition and greenhouse gases.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the role of Venus' dense atmosphere and its impact on temperature. Questions are raised about the electromagnetic spectrum and how it interacts with planetary atmospheres. There is also consideration of the greenhouse effect and comparisons with Earth's atmosphere.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants offering various lines of reasoning and questioning assumptions about atmospheric effects and temperature. Some guidance is provided regarding the greenhouse effect, while others suggest examining the differences in atmospheric composition between Venus and Earth.

Contextual Notes

Participants are operating under the constraints of a homework context, which may limit the depth of exploration and the types of solutions discussed. There is an implicit assumption that understanding the atmospheric effects is crucial to addressing the temperature anomaly.

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The dense atmosphere on the planet Venus makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system, even hotter than Mercury the closest planet to the Sun. suggest an explanation for this anomaly that involves the electromagnetic spectrum.

- Electromagnetic waves travel slower in denser mediums, and also there will be more refraction and chances of total internal reflection increases the EM waves within the atmosphere at one time.
 
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Nope
What does the peak wavelength of a black body depend on?
Think of the peak wavelengths emitted by a star and a planet.
What wavelengths get absorbed by an atmosphere?
 
Last edited:
It may also be an idea to consider how Venus' atmosphere differs to Earth (by compound).
 
I was pretty sure it had to do with the greenhouse effect.
 

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