Interactive planet view
Explore Venus in 3D
Venus is similar to Earth in size but radically different at the surface. A dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere and sulfuric-acid clouds help make it the hottest planet.
- Surface temperature: about 465 °C
- Surface pressure: about 92 times Earth’s
- Rotation: 243 Earth days, backwards
Focus the 3D view on Venus, inspect its reference data, and compare its nearly circular orbit with those of neighbouring planets.
Model note: This is an artistic educational visualization. Sizes, distances, and time are compressed for visibility; it is not a live ephemeris or a professional astronomy tool.
About Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and almost Earth’s twin in size and mass, but its surface is hostile. A carbon-dioxide atmosphere about 92 times denser than Earth’s traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, keeping the surface near 465 °C — hotter than Mercury, even though Venus is farther from the Sun.
Thick clouds of sulfuric acid hide the ground and reflect most sunlight, which is why Venus is the brightest planet in our night sky. It spins backwards compared with most planets, and very slowly: one rotation takes 243 Earth days, longer than its 225-day year. Soviet Venera landers photographed its basalt plains in the 1970s and 1980s, and NASA’s Magellan orbiter mapped almost the whole surface by radar.
Venus: frequently asked questions
Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?
Venus’s dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, so the whole surface stays near 465 °C day and night. Mercury has almost no atmosphere, so its heat escapes into space.
Can you see Venus from Earth?
Yes. After the Moon it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, often called the morning star or evening star because it appears near sunrise or sunset.
Is a day on Venus longer than a year?
Yes. Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once but only 225 days to orbit the Sun. Because it spins backwards, the time from one sunrise to the next is about 117 Earth days.
Sources: NASA Science — Venus · NASA Planetary Fact Sheet.
Tip: click any visible object for its radius and orbital data. Press G to show or hide this guide.