Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun in our Solar System. Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon.

Physical Characteristics

Venus is similar in size and structure to Earth, and is often described as Earth's "sister" or "twin". The diameter of Venus is 12,104 km—only 638 km less than Earth's—and its mass is 81.5% of Earth's. However, conditions on the Venusian surface differ radically from those on Earth due to its dense atmosphere.

The atmosphere of Venus is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface of Venus is about 467 °C (872 °F), and the pressure is 92 times that of Earth's atmosphere. This makes Venus's surface hotter than Mercury's, even though Venus is nearly twice as far from the Sun and receives only 25% of the solar irradiance.

Orbit and Rotation

Venus orbits the Sun every 224.7 Earth days. It has the slowest rotation of any planet in the Solar System, taking 243 Earth days to complete a single rotation along its axis. Interestingly, Venus's rotation is retrograde; it rotates in the opposite direction to the direction it orbits around the Sun.

Exploration of Venus

The exploration of Venus has been a significant focus of planetary science since the mid-20th century. Venus's thick clouds render observation of its surface impossible in visible light, and the first detailed maps did not emerge until the arrival of the Magellan orbiter in 1991.

See Also

• List of missions to Venus
• Atmosphere of Venus
• Geology of Venus