Venus

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This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Venus (disambiguation).

Venus

A real-colour image taken by Mariner 10 processed from

two filters. The surface is obscured by thick sulfuric acid
clouds.

Designations

Pronunciation /ˈviːnəs/ ( listen)

Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean,

Adjectives
Venerean

Orbital characteristics[3][5]

Epoch J2000

 0.728213 AU
Aphelion
 108,939,000 km

 0.718440 AU
Perihelion  107,477,000 km

 0.723332 AU
Semi-major axis  108,208,000 km
 Eccentricity 0.006772[2]

 224.701 d[3]
Orbital period  0.615198 yr
 1.92 Venus solar day

Synodic period 583.92 days[3]

Average orbital
35.02 km/s
speed

Mean anomaly 50.115°

 3.39458° to ecliptic
Inclination  3.86° to Sun's equator
 2.19° to invariable plane[4]

Longitude of
76.680°[2]
ascending node

Argument of
54.884°
perihelion

Satellites None

Physical characteristics

 6,051.8±1.0 km[6]
Mean radius  0.9499 Earths

Flattening 0[6]

 4.6023×108 km2
Surface area  0.902 Earths

 9.2843×1011 km3
Volume
 0.866 Earths

 4.8675×1024 kg[7]
Mass
 0.815 Earths

Mean density 5.243 g/cm3

 8.87 m/s2
Surface gravity  0.904 g

Escape velocity 10.36 km/s (6.44 mi/s)[8]

 Sidereal rotation
−243.025 d (retrograde)[3]
period

Equatorial
6.52 km/h (1.81 m/s)
rotation velocity

2.64° (for retrograde rotation)

Axial tilt
177.36° (to orbit)[3][note 1]

North pole right  18h 11m 2s

ascension  272.76°[9]

North pole
67.16°
declination

 0.689 (geometric)[10]
Albedo
 0.76 (Bond)[11]

Surface temp. min mean max

Kelvin 737 K[3]

Celsius 462 °C

Fahrenheit 864 °F (462 °C)

Apparent magnitude −4.92 to −2.98[12]

Angular diameter 9.7″–66.0″[3]

Atmosphere

Surface pressure 92 bar (9.2 MPa)

 96.5% carbon dioxide

 3.5% nitrogen
 0.015% sulfur dioxide
 0.007% argon
 0.002% water vapour
Composition by
 0.0017% carbon monoxide
volume  0.0012% helium
 0.0007% neon
 trace carbonyl sulfide
 trace hydrogen chloride
 trace hydrogen fluoride

1.
 1. Defining the rotation as retrograde, as done by
NASA space missions and the USGS, puts Ishtar
Terra in the northern hemisphere and makes the
axial tilt 2.64°. Following the right-hand rule for
prograde rotation puts Ishtar Terra in the
southern hemisphere and makes the axial tilt
177.36°.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days.[13] It has the
longest rotation period (243 days) of any planet in the Solar System and rotates in the
opposite direction to most other planets (meaning the Sun would rise in the west and set in
the east).[14] It does not have any natural satellites. It is named after the Roman goddess of
love and beauty. It is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon,
reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6 – bright enough to cast shadows at night and, rarely,
visible to the naked eye in broad daylight.[15][16] Orbiting within Earth's orbit, Venus is an
inferior planet and never appears to venture far from the Sun; its maximum angular distance
from the Sun (elongation) is 47.8°.