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terrestrial planet

Venus

Earth's near-twin in size, hidden under acid clouds and a crushing carbon-dioxide atmosphere that makes it the hottest planet.

Distance from Earth today
42.17 million km0.282 AU · light: 2 min 21 s
Distance from the Sun today
108.2 million km0.723 AU
As of
2 November 2026Live distance and chart →

Where it is today

Top view of the plane of Earth’s orbit, compressed distance scale. Open on the big map with the time slider →

Facts

Diameter
12,104 km
Mass
4.87 × 10²⁴ kg
Density
5,243 kg/m³
Surface gravity
8.9 m/s²
Escape velocity
10.4 km/s
Rotation period
243.0 days (retrograde)
Length of day
116.8 days
Mean distance from the Sun
108.2 million km (0.723 AU)
Perihelion
107.5 million km
Aphelion
108.9 million km
Orbital period
224.7 days
Mean orbital velocity
35.0 km/s
Orbital eccentricity
0.007
Orbital inclination
3.4°
Axial tilt
177.4°
Mean temperature
464 °C
Surface pressure
92 bar
Known moons
0
Rings
no
Global magnetic field
no

Source of the figures: NASA Planetary Fact Sheet (public domain).

Description

Venus is almost the same size as Earth, but the two worlds took very different paths. A dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere and a runaway greenhouse effect keep its surface hotter than Mercury's, with a pressure that would crush most spacecraft within hours. Thick clouds of sulfuric acid hide the ground, so its volcanic plains and highlands have been mapped mainly by radar. The planet turns very slowly and backwards compared with most others, so its day is longer than its year. Soviet Venera landers, including Venera 13 with its colour panoramas, sent back the only pictures from the surface, while many probes such as Mariner 10, Galileo, Cassini, MESSENGER, Parker Solar Probe and BepiColombo studied it during flybys.

Surface map and landing sites

Texture: Solar System Scope (CC BY 4.0) · names: IAU/USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

MissionSiteDateCoordinates
Venera 13East of Phoebe Regio1 March 1982 7.500° S, 57.000° W

Missions