Venus vs Earth: The Scientific Mystery of Planetary Evolution and Habitability

Venus is arguably the worst place in the solar system. A cloak of carbon dioxide suffocates the planet, subjecting its surface to skull-crushing pressure.

Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground. Venus is so hot — hot enough to melt lead — that the acid rain evaporates as it's falling.

The planet's extreme inhospitality is at the heart of one of the most beguiling mysteries in planetary science.

Venus and Earth formed from similar materials and are often called twin planets, yet their evolutionary paths diverged dramatically.

Scientists are investigating how Earth's twin became so inhospitable, and whether the same will happen to our planet.