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Venus (Planet)

In astronomy, Venus is the second planet from the sun in the solar system and one of the first 'wandering stars' to have been noticed in ancient times. Due to the closeness of it to the sun and it’s cloud tops it is one of the brightest objects in the night or evening sky.

A close to true colour image of Venus. image: wikipedia

Orbit basics:

     ▪ Distance from sun: between 107,476,170 and 108,942,780 km

     ▪ Orbital period (its year): 224.70 Earth days 

Size comparison showing a representation of Venus (using a false-colour, radar-based image of the surface) and Earth. image: wikipedia

Planet basics:

     ▪ Type of planet: rocky/terrestrial

     ▪ Length of day: -243.018 Earth days (retrograde) - Venus rotates clockwise in retrograde rotation once every 243 Earth days—the slowest rotation of any planet. 

     ▪ Average radius: 6,051.8 km

     ▪ Mass: 4.8673 x 1024 kg about .815 of Earth

     ▪ Surface gravity: 0.904 g

     ▪ Surface temperature: 464 °C

     ▪ Atmosphere: Very thick and dense

     ▪ Pressure: 93 bar  91 atmospheres

     ▪ Atmospheric composition: 

     ▪ ~96.5% carbon dioxide

     ▪ ~3.5% nitrogen

     ▪ 0.015% sulfur dioxide

     ▪ 0.007% argon

     ▪ 0.002% water vapor

     ▪ 0.001 7% carbon monoxide

     ▪ 0.001 2% helium

     ▪ 0.000 7% neon

     ▪ trace carbonyl sulfide

     ▪ trace hydrogen chloride

     ▪ trace hydrogen fluoride


Solar system exploration: Planets: Venus Facts and Figures [NASA]