Named for the Roman goddess of love by the same name, the planet Venus is the second planet from the Sun, at a distance of roughly 108,209,000 kilometers. With an orbital circumference of 680,000,000 kilometers, Venus is just slightly smaller than the Earth and has a very similar chemical composition. For this reason, Venus is commonly referred to as the Earth’s “sister” planet. It takes Venus just under 225 days to orbit the Sun on full time, compared to the 365 day orbital period of the Earth.
Venus actually rotates from east to west, as opposed to west to east which is the common rotating direction of most other planets in space. The atmosphere on the surface of the planet Venus consists mostly of carbon dioxide, with a small trace of nitrogen. The planet Venus has a surface pressure about 90 times that of the Earth, making any life on the planet unsustainable.
Venus is in view to the naked eye from Earth for a period of 2-3 hours before sunrise and 2-3 hours after sunset. Venus is the only other non terrestrial body, besides the moon, that can be seen from Earth during both day and night time hours. At night, Venus is usually the second brightest object in the sky next to the moon.
For more information on Venus, click on any of the Venus articles, Venus pictures, or other interactive Venus features below.
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