Venus has a very small axial tilt -- 3 degrees versus Earth's 23.5 degrees. Its dense, acidic atmosphere produces a runaway greenhouse effect that keeps the surface at around 865 degrees F year-round, which is hot enough to melt lead.When the solar system settled into its current layout about 4.5 billion years ago, Venus formed when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust together to form the second planet from the Sun. Like its fellow terrestrial planets, Venus has a central core, a rocky mantle and a solid crust.
