Venus

Introduction

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the closest planet to Earth. It is the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon. It is often referred to as the morning star or evening star because it is visible in the sky before sunrise or after sunset.

Venus is the second-largest terrestrial planet and is similar in size and mass to Earth. It has a dense atmosphere composed of 96% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen. It has a surface temperature of 462 °C and a surface pressure of 92 bar. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is sometimes called Earth’s sister planet because of its similar size and mass.

Distance from sun

0.7 AU (100 million km; 65 million mi) from the Sun.

Year length

A year on Venus is 225 Earth days.

Day length

The length of a day on Venus is 243 Earth days.

Fun fact

It has the longest rotation period of any planet in the Solar System and rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets.
The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Venus is 92 times that of Earth’s.

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