Volcanic Planet: Exploring Venus
In Volcanic Planet: Exploring Venus, Professor Brian Cox explains how Venus went from being a planet with the conditions to sustain life to a hot, cloudy, hellish landscape. Learn how greenhouse gases and volcanoes played a role in making Venus what it is today. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
Lesson Express
Q: How were young Venus and Earth similar?
A: Both planets were a similar distance from the Sun.
Q: How did the Sun impact Venus?
A: As the Sun became older, it got hotter and warmed Venus. This created clouds and a thicker atmosphere.
Q: What was the tipping point for Venus?
A: The tipping point was when there was so much gas in the atmosphere that the atmosphere could only get hotter.
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In Getting Started: Life on Earth and Mars, Professor Brian Cox explains the conditions that are required for life to begin. Learn how Earth and Mars had these conditions at the same time. Could life have started in two places at once? Or might the life on Earth have come from outer space? This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
