Venus

Overview

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is Earth's closest planetary neighbor. It's often called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size, mass, and proximity to the Sun, but the similarities end there.

Venus has a thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and is shrouded by clouds of sulfuric acid, making it the hottest planet in our solar system with surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead.

A day on Venus lasts longer than a year! It takes Venus 243 Earth days to rotate once on its axis, but only 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun.

Atmosphere

Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide (96.5%) with clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmospheric pressure at the surface is 92 times that of Earth's—equivalent to the pressure found 900 meters (3,000 feet) underwater on Earth.

This thick atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus the hottest planet in our solar system with an average surface temperature of 465°C (869°F).

Surface

Venus has a varied and complex surface with volcanoes, large highland terrains, and vast lava plains. It has more volcanoes than any other planet in the solar system—over 1,600 major volcanoes or volcanic features.

Unlike Earth, Venus does not have plate tectonics, which explains why its surface appears relatively young (300-600 million years old) with few impact craters.

The highest mountain on Venus, Maxwell Montes, rises 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) above the average surface elevation, making it higher than Mount Everest.

Exploration

More than 40 spacecraft have explored Venus. The first successful landing on Venus was by the Soviet Union's Venera 7 in 1970, which transmitted data for 23 minutes before succumbing to the extreme conditions.

NASA's Magellan spacecraft mapped 98% of the surface of Venus in the early 1990s using radar to penetrate the thick cloud cover.

Recent missions include ESA's Venus Express (2006-2014) and Japan's Akatsuki, which is currently studying Venus's atmosphere and weather patterns.

Venus vs. Earth

Though often called Earth's "sister planet," Venus is dramatically different from our world:

While similar in size and mass to Earth, Venus has no moons and no magnetic field. Its surface is dominated by volcanic features, and its atmosphere creates extreme greenhouse conditions.