VENUS

As the second closest planet to the Sun – 67million miles away – scorching 900F (480C) Venus is considered far too hot for life to exist

It spins backwards, unlike other planets, so the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east

Venus is the brightest planet, shining so strongly we know it as the ‘morning star’ in the day or ‘evening star’ at night

The Mekon, arch enemy of 1950s comic book hero Dan Dare, was the swollen-headed ruler of the Treens of northern Venus