Extraterrestrial atmosphere other trace elements, including compounds based on hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, and oxygen. The atmosphere of Venus is much hotter and denser than that of Earth, though shallower. As greenhouse gases warm a lower atmosphere, they cool the upper atmosphere, leading to compact thermospheres. By some definitions, Venus has no stratosphere. The troposphere begins at the surface and extends up to an altitude of 65 kilometres (an altitude at which the mesosphere has already been reached on Earth). At the top of the troposphere, temperature and pressure reach Earth-like levels. Winds at the surface are a few metres per second,
Atmosphere of Venus water on the surface. At some point in the evolution of Venus, a runaway greenhouse effect occurred, leading to the current greenhouse-dominated atmosphere. The timing of this transition from Earthlike to Venuslike is not known, but is estimated to have occurred around 4 billion years ago. The runaway greenhouse effect may have been caused by the evaporation of the surface water and the rise of the levels of greenhouse gases that followed. Venus's atmosphere has therefore received a great deal of attention from those studying climate change on Earth. There are no geologic forms on the planet to suggest the