Venus Facts

Mean distance from Sun: 0.7233 AU
(108,200,000 km/67,230,000 mi)
Diameter: 12,102 km (7,520 mi)
Length of year: 225 days
Rotation period: 243 days (retrograde)
Mean orbital velocity: 35 km/sec (21.8 mi/sec)
Inclination of axis: 177.3°
Number of observed satellites: 0

Comparisons with Earth
Mean distance from Sun: 0.723 x Earth's
Diameter: 0.95 x Earth's
Mass: 0.81 x Earth's
Density: 0.9 x Earth's

• The planet is named for Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
• To the Teutonic peoples, the planet was known as Frig, the goddess wife of Woden. Friday (Frigdaeg) is named for her.
• Venus is about the same size as Earth.
• Venus rotates in a retrograde (backward) direction.
• At its closest, Venus is only 42 million kilometers (26 million miles) from Earth.
• Venus has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Atmospheric pressure at the surface is 90 times that of Earth.
• Because Venus is nearer the Sun than Earth and has a very thick atmosphere, the surface temperature is extremely high, as much as 475° Celsius (900° Farenheit).