Episode 29: Venus

In size, mass and orbit Venus is the nearest Earth has to a twin in
the Solar System. It is the brightest object in the sky after the
sun and moon, hottest planet in the solar system, has a day longer
than its year, is named after the Roman goddess of love and yet it
has a deadly atmosphere and its the one planet that gets closer to
the Earth than any other. In this episode, recorded in late 2008,
Professor Fred Taylor, Jesus College Oxford, talks about the Venus
Express mission. ==================================== This week’s
quote is my rather obtuse reference to the runaway greenhouse
effect on the planet Venus. Its from Will Rogers and its what he
says to his niece on  seeing Venus de Milo in the Louvre in
Paris. “See what will happen if you don't stop biting your
fingernails?”