Classified as a terrestrial planet, it is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet," because they're similar in size, gravity, and bulk composition. Venus has the densest atmosphere of all the planets, consisting mostly of carbon dioxide, as it has no carbon cycle to lock carbon back into rocks and surface featuresm nor organic life to absob it in biomass. It has become so hot that the earth-like oceans that Venus is believed to have possessed have totally evaporated, leaving Venus desert like. The best hypothesis is that the evaporated water has dissociated, and with the lack of a planetary magnetic field, it has been swept into space by solar winds.

     The adjective Venusian is commonly used for items related to Venus, though the Latin adjective is the rarly used Venerean; the archaic Cytherean is still occasionally encountered. Venus is the only planet in the Solar System named after a female figure, although two dwarf planets--Ceres and Eris--also have feminine names.