Although Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it’s not the hottest. That title belongs to Venus. The average surface temperature of Venus is about 460°C or 860°F. That’s hot enough to melt lead. The reason why Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system is its atmosphere. It has a thick atmosphere, 96% of which is made of carbon dioxide, along with traces of other gases such as sulfur dioxide. These gases and the yellowish clouds containing sulphuric acid trap most of the Sun’s heat and generate a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus the hottest planet in the solar system. This also makes the exploration of Venus a challenging task. The longest a lander survived on this planet is just 128 minutes before its instruments got damaged in the hostile environment.
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