Venus
Earth's scorching twin, wrapped in a thick toxic atmosphere that traps heat in a runaway greenhouse.
See Venus in the 3D solar system →Venus at a glance
- Distance from Sun
- 0.723 AU
- Radius
- 6,051.8 km
- Day length
- 117 days
- Year
- 225 days
- Moons
- 0
- Mean temperature
- 464 °C
- Surface gravity
- 8.87 m/s²
- Mass
- 0.815 × Earth
About Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the hottest in the solar system, with a surface around 464 °C — hot enough to melt lead. A thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, and dense clouds of sulphuric acid hide the surface from view.
Similar in size and composition to Earth, Venus is often called our sister planet, yet it rotates slowly and backwards: its day is longer than its year, and the Sun would rise in the west.
- Hottest planet in the solar system
- Rotates backwards (retrograde)
- A day is longer than its year