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Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Its dense, carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere traps heat so effectively that the average surface temperature is about 867°F (464°C), according to NASA’s 2022 comparison. Venus is similar to Earth in size, but its crushing pressure, acidic clouds, slow retrograde rotation, and intensely hot surface make it a very different world.
Venus at a glance
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and, in NASA’s description, Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. It is a rocky planet with a mean radius about 5% smaller than Earth’s. Yet the resemblance in size conceals a stark contrast: Venus has a dense atmosphere and a surface environment hostile to humans and familiar Earth life.
| Measure | Venus | Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Mean radius | 6,051.8 km | 6,371.0 km |
| Mean surface temperature | 464°C (867°F) | 15°C |
| Surface pressure | 92 bars | About 1 bar at sea level |
| Sidereal rotation | −5,832.6 hours, retrograde | 23.9345 hours |
| Sidereal orbit period | 224.701 Earth days | 365.256 Earth days |
Planetary comparison values are from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/NSSDC Venus Fact Sheet. NASA’s temperature resource gives mean surface temperatures; the negative rotation value uses the fact sheet’s convention to indicate retrograde spin.
Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?
Mercury is closer to the Sun, but proximity alone does not determine a planet’s surface temperature. Venus’s thick atmosphere, composed mostly of carbon dioxide, absorbs and retains heat through an extreme greenhouse effect. The heat that reaches the surface has difficulty escaping back into space, keeping Venus hotter than Mercury.
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NASA’s mean-temperature comparison lists Venus at 867°F (464°C) and Mercury at 333°F (167°C). Venus’s surface temperature is hot enough to melt lead. The figures are from NASA’s Solar System Temperatures, published February 15, 2022.
What are Venus’s atmosphere and surface like?
A dense, hot atmosphere
Carbon dioxide is the main component of Venus’s atmosphere, with nitrogen the next major component in NASA’s planetary fact sheet. At the surface, pressure is about 92 bars—roughly 92 times Earth’s sea-level pressure. NASA also describes it in rounded terms as about 93 times Earth’s sea-level pressure.
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High in the atmosphere, clouds made of sulfuric acid obscure the surface from ordinary visible-light views. Those clouds are not a cool, breathable refuge: Venus remains an extreme environment, and the cloud layer’s existence is distinct from the question of whether any life could persist there.
A rocky landscape mapped by radar
Because clouds block a clear optical view of the ground, spacecraft radar has been essential for studying Venus’s terrain. NASA’s Magellan spacecraft mapped the surface and revealed volcanoes, mountains, and terrain altered by extensive geological activity. NASA describes evidence of widespread volcanism and relatively recent resurfacing in geological terms; that does not establish that every volcano is active today.
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How long is a day on Venus?
The answer depends on what “day” means. Venus turns once relative to the distant stars in about 243.69 Earth days. That is its sidereal rotation period, and the spin is retrograde—opposite the direction of most planets’ rotation. As a result, the Sun appears to rise in the west and set in the east.
A solar day, measured from one sunrise to the next at a given location, is about 117 Earth days. Venus’s year—the time it takes to orbit the Sun—is about 224.70 Earth days. The sidereal rotation is longer than the year, while the solar day is shorter because Venus rotates backward as it moves around the Sun.
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Could there be life in Venus’s clouds?
Some conditions around 50 km above Venus’s surface are less extreme than those on the ground: NASA gives temperatures of roughly 30°C to 70°C there, with pressure similar to Earth’s surface pressure. Such conditions could be compatible with some Earthly extremophiles, but compatibility is not evidence. No claim that life exists in Venus’s clouds follows from those measurements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do scientists study Venus?
Scientists combine spacecraft observations with measurements of the planet’s atmosphere and surface. Radar can map terrain beneath the clouds, while missions designed to sample or analyze the atmosphere can investigate how Venus formed and changed.
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NASA’s DAVINCI mission is designed to study Venus from above the clouds down to the surface, examining the planet’s formation and evolution and its massive atmosphere. Its stated objectives are described on NASA’s DAVINCI Science page; this description does not specify an operational date.
Can you see Venus from Earth?
Venus can show phases like the Moon as it moves around the Sun relative to Earth. Observers can follow those changing phases with binoculars or a telescope. A beginner telescope or binoculars can help if you want to observe the change over time, but equipment is not needed to understand why Venus is so hot or how its orbit and rotation differ from Earth’s.
For additional basic facts about the planet, see NASA Space Place’s All About Venus.
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