Third Grade
Worksheets
Venus...Earth's Sister?
Comparing the first four planets (as if they were placed side by side), from left to right: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. Image credit: NASA
Venus has been called Earth's twin sister. In some ways, the planets are a lot alike. They are about the same size. They have about the same gravity. They are close to each other in space. They formed about the same time, so they are the same age. They are made of about the same things. Both planets are rocky. Both have volcanoes and mountains. Both have canyons and sand dunes.
In other ways, Earth and Venus are NOT alike. On Venus, the sun rises in the west. That's because Venus turns on its axis in the opposite direction that Earth turns. Venus turns slowly, too. Earth turns on its axis once every twenty-four hours. But a day on Venus is very long. Venus takes 243 days to make one turn on its axis!
