Venus, the Best and Brightest

Editor’s Note: This article is part of the series “What Is the Best Planet?”

I usually don’t criticize my colleagues in public but I would like to draw attention to two articles in The Atlantic—one by Adrienne LaFrance ‘Jupiter Is the Best Planet’ and the other by Ross Andersen who claims that Saturn is the best planet in the solar system. Honestly? They can’t be serious. Jupiter might be our largest planet but do we really want to say that bigger is better? Surely, size can’t be enough to win this cosmic competition.

And Saturn? The ringed planet is such a show–off. I admit, the first time I saw Saturn through a telescope, I was impressed. It’s a magnificently beautiful planet, but after a while beauty becomes a little boring. It’s a bit too superficial as a criteria