Venus

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

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is a terrestrial planet and is the closest in mass and size to its orbital neighbour Earth. Venus has by far the densest atmosphere of the terrestrial planets, composed mostly of carbon dioxide with a thick, global sulfuric acid cloud cover. At the surface it has a mean temperature of 737 K (464 °C; 867 °F) and a pressure of 92 times that of Earth's at sea level. These extreme conditions compress carbon dioxide into a supercritical state at Venus's surface.

Venus

True colour image of Venus, as captured by MESSENGER. A cloud layer permanently obscures the surface.
Designations
Pronunciation	/ˈviːnəs/ ⓘ
Named after	Roman goddess of love (see goddess Venus)
Adjectives	Venusian /vɪˈnjuːziən, -ʒən/,[1] rarely Cytherean /sɪθəˈriːən/[2] or Venerean / Venerian /vɪˈnɪəriən/[3]
Symbol
Orbital characteristics[4][5]
Epoch J2000
Aphelion	0.728213 AU (108.94 million km)
Perihelion	0.718440 AU (107.48 million km)
Semi-major axis	0.723332 AU (108.21 million km)
Eccentricity	0.006772[6]
Orbital period (sidereal)	224.701 d[4] 0.615198 yr 1.92 Venus solar day
Orbital period (synodic)	583.92 days[4]
Average orbital speed	35.02 km/s
Mean anomaly	50.115°
Inclination	3.39458° to ecliptic 3.86° to Sun's equator 2.15° to invariable plane[7]
Longitude of ascending node	76.680°[6]
Argument of perihelion	54.884°
Satellites	None
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	6,051.8±1.0 km[8] 0.9499 Earths
Flattening	0[8]
Surface area	4.6023×108 km2 0.902 Earths
Volume	9.2843×1011 km3 0.857 Earths
Mass	4.8675×1024 kg[9] 0.815 Earths
Mean density	5.243 g/cm3
Surface gravity	8.87 m/s2 (0.904 g0)
Escape velocity	10.36 km/s (6.44 mi/s)[10]
Synodic rotation period	−116.75 d (retrograde)[11] 1 Venus solar day
Sidereal rotation period	−243.0226 d (retrograde)[12]
Equatorial rotation velocity	1.81 m/s
Axial tilt	2.64° (for retrograde rotation) 177.36° (to orbit)[4][note 1]
North pole right ascension	18h 11m 2s 272.76° [13][14]
North pole declination	67.16° [14]
Albedo	0.689 (geometric)[15] 0.76 (Bond)[16]
Temperature	232 K (−41 °C) (blackbody temperature)[17]
Surface temp. min mean max