Venus - A Basalt World, Granite Hints of Ancient Water
Origin & Age
Earth is 4.6 billion years old; Venus formed at the same time, about 4.6 billion years ago. Nearly identical in size and mass to Earth, Venus is often called our “twin planet.” Yet its environment is entirely different: the atmosphere is over 96% CO₂, with surface temperatures near 460°C, creating a true hellscape.
Venus Specs
| Item | Value | Versus Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ~4.6 billion years | Same |
| Diameter | 12,104 km | ~0.95× Earth |
| Mass | 0.82 Earth masses | — |
| Gravity | 0.9 g | ~90% Earth |
| Mean surface temp. | ~460°C | Much hotter |
| Atmosphere | ~96% CO₂, ~3.5% N₂, sulfuric acid clouds | Not breathable |
| Can humans move bare-skinned? | No (heat, pressure, toxic gases fatal) | Impossible |
| With spacesuit? | No (even suits cannot withstand it) | Impossible |
Main Rocks on Venus
| Rock | Key traits | Exists on Earth? | Uses (material) | Major sources (Earth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | Dominates the surface; volcanic plains cover most of Venus | Yes, abundant | Aggregates, road base, insulation | Japan (Fuji, Aso), Hawaii, Iceland |
| Andesite | Intermediate volcanic rock with more silica than basalt | Yes, common | Building stone, exterior stone | Japan (Tohoku, Izu), Andes mountains |
| Granite (trace) | Silica-rich; hints suggest water-aided re-melting in Venus’s past | Yes, abundant on Earth | Lanterns, monuments, sculptures, gravestones | Japan (Okazaki, Kagawa), India, Brazil, China (Fujian) |
Granite Hints of Ancient Water
Radar mapping and probe data indicate traces of granite-like terrain on Venus. These suggest that liquid water once existed, allowing basalt to re-melt and form granite. However, a runaway greenhouse effect boiled away the oceans, leaving today’s scorching, high-pressure environment.
Ongoing Volcanic Activity
Recent observations confirm that Venus is volcanically active today. Lava flows and eruptions continue to reshape its surface, proving that Venus is not a geologically dead world but a dynamic and hazardous planet.
Environment & Human Activity
At ~460°C and ~90 bar pressure, bare-skin activity is instantly fatal, and even advanced spacesuits cannot survive. Exploration has been limited to robotic missions such as the Soviet Venera landers and NASA’s radar surveys.
Contrast with Earth
Venus and Earth are “twin planets” in size and age, but their environments diverged dramatically. Venus is a basalt-dominated, CO₂-rich world of extreme heat, while Earth’s water and plate tectonics created granite continents—the true stage of human civilization.
Summary
- Origin: ~4.6 Ga, Earth’s twin in size and age
- Composition: basalt plains, andesite, with granite traces
- Volcanism: active today, reshaping the surface
- Environment: bare-skin no / spacesuit no
- Granite traces point to past water; no granite continents formed
On Venus, granite exists only as traces, and it can never produce the granite products sold by japanstones.shop.