The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Venus:

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

– second

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, orbiting it every 224.7

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

days. It has the longest rotation period (243 days) of any planet in the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

and rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets. It has no

natural satellite A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are often colloquially referred to as ''moons'' ...

. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, reaching an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ...

of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows. Because Venus orbits within Earth's orbit it is an inferior planet. Venus is a

terrestrial planet A terrestrial planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, ...

and is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size, mass, proximity to the Sun, and bulk composition. It is radically different from Earth in other respects. It has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96%

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

. The

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

at the planet's surface is 92 times that of Earth, or roughly the pressure found underwater on Earth.

Classification of Venus

* Astronomical object ** Gravitationally rounded object ***

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

**** Planet of the Solar System ***** Inferior planet *****

Inner planet The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

****

Terrestrial planet A terrestrial planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, ...

Location of Venus

Milky Way Galaxy The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

– barred spiral galaxy ** Orion Arm – a spiral arm of the Milky Way ***

– the Sun and the objects that orbit it, including 8 planets, the planet second-closest to the Sun being Venus **** Orbit of Venus

Features of Venus

* Atmosphere of Venus * Geology of Venus ** Geological features on Venus ***

Arachnoid Arachnoid may refer to: * Relating to arachnids * Arachnoid (astrogeology), a geological structure found only on the planet Venus * Arachnoid (botany), referring to organs with a cobwebby exterior appearance * Arachnoid granulation, small protrus ...

*** Coronae on Venus *** Craters on Venus *** Montes on Venus *** Terrae on Venus **

Volcanism on Venus The surface of Venus is dominated by volcanic features and has more volcanoes than any other planet in the Solar System. It has a surface that is 90% basalt, and about 65% of the planet consists of a mosaic of volcanic lava plains, indicating that ...

* Orbit of Venus * Quadrangles on Venus

History of Venus

Exploration of Venus

Observations and explorations of Venus Observations of the planet Venus include those in antiquity, telescopic observations, and from visiting spacecraft. Spacecraft have performed various flybys, orbits, and landings on Venus, including balloon probes that floated in the atmospher ...

* Artificial objects on Venus

Flybys and direct missions to explore Venus

Venera The Venera (, , which means "Venus" in Russian) program was the name given to a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. Ten probes successfully landed on the s ...

Venera 1 ''Venera 1'' (russian: Венера-1 meaning ''Venus 1''), also known as Venera-1VA No.2 and occasionally in the West as ''Sputnik 8'' was the first spacecraft to fly past Venus, as part of the Soviet Union's Venera programme. Launched in Febr ...

Venera 2 Venera 2 (russian: Венера-2 meaning ''Venus 2''), also known as 3MV-4 No.4 was a Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Venus. A 3MV-4 spacecraft launched as part of the Venera programme, it failed to return data after flying past Venus. ...

Venera 3 Venera 3 (russian: Венера-3 meaning ''Venus 3'') was a Venera program space probe that was built and launched by the Soviet Union to explore the surface of Venus. It was launched on 16 November 1965 at 04:19 UTC from Baikonur, Kazakhstan ...

Venera 4 Venera 4 (russian: Венера-4, lit=Venus-4), also designated 4V-1 No.310, was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. The probe comprised a lander, designed to enter the Venusian atmosphere and parachute to the ...

Venera 5 Venera 5 (russian: Венера-5 meaning ''Venus 5'') was a space probe in the Soviet space program ''Venera'' for the exploration of Venus. Venera 5 was launched towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to V ...

Venera 6 Venera 6 (''russian: link=no, Венера-6'' meaning ''Venus 6''), or 2V (V-69) No.331, was a Soviet spacecraft, launched towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. It had an on-orbit dry mass of . The spacecraft was very similar to Venera 4 ...

Venera 7 Venera 7 (russian: Венера-7, lit=Venus 7) was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface on 15 December 1970, it became the first spacecraft to soft land on another planet an ...

Venera 8 Venera 8 (russian: Венера-8 meaning ''Venus 8'') was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus and was the second robotic space probe to conduct a successful landing on the surface of Venus. Venera 8 was a Venus atm ...

Venera 9 Venera 9 (russian: Венера-9, lit=Venus-9), manufacturer's designation: 4V-1 No. 660, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975, at 02:38:00 UTC and had a m ...

Venera 10 Venera 10 (russian: Венера-10 meaning ''Venus 10''), or 4V-1 No. 661, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 14, 1975, 03:00:31 UTC and had a mass of 5033 kg (1 ...

Venera 11 The Venera 11 (russian: Венера-11 meaning ''Venus 11'') was a Soviet uncrewed space mission which was part of the Venera program to explore the planet Venus. Venera 11 was launched on 9 September 1978 at 03:25:39 UTC. Separating from its ...

Venera 12 The Venera 12 (russian: Венера-12 meaning Venus 12) was an uncrewed Soviet space mission designed to explore the planet Venus. Venera 12 was launched on 14 September 1978 at 02:25:13 UTC. After separating from its flight platform on 19 D ...

Venera 13 Venera 13 (russian: Венера-13 meaning Venus 13) was part of the Soviet Venera program meant to explore Venus. Venera 13 and 14 were identical spacecraft built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity. The probes were launched ...

Venera 14 Venera 14 (russian: Венера-14 meaning Venus 14) was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. Venera 14 was identical to the Venera 13 spacecraft, built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity. Vene ...

Venera 15 Venera 15 (russian: Венера-15 meaning ''Venus 15'') was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems. The spacecraft was identical to Venera 16 ...

Venera 16 Venera 16 (russian: Венера-16 meaning ''Venus 16'') was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems. The spacecraft was identical to Venera 1 ...

Mariner program The Mariner program was conducted by the American space agency NASA to explore other planets. Between 1962 and late 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) designed and built 10 robotic interplanetary probes named Mariner to explore the in ...

Mariner 2 Mariner 2 (Mariner-Venus 1962), an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the B ...

Mariner 5 Mariner 5 (Mariner Venus 1967) was a spacecraft of the Mariner program that carried a complement of experiments to probe Venus' atmosphere by radio occultation, measure the hydrogen Lyman-alpha (hard ultraviolet) spectrum, and sample the sola ...

* Mariner 10 *

Zond program Zond (russian: Зонд, lit=probe) was the name given to two distinct series of Soviet robotic spacecraft launched between 1964 and 1970. The first series, based on the 3MV planetary probe, was intended to gather information about nearby plan ...

Zond 1 Zond 1 was a spacecraft of the Soviet Zond program. It was the second Soviet research spacecraft to reach Venus, although communications had failed by that time. It carried a 90 cm spherical landing capsule, containing experiments for chem ...

Pioneer Venus project The Pioneer Venus project was part of the Pioneer program consisting of two spacecraft, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, launched to Venus in 1978. The program was managed by NASA's Ames Research Center. The Pione ...

Vega program The Vega program (Cyrillic: ВеГа) was a series of Venus missions that also took advantage of the appearance of comet 1P/Halley in 1986. ''Vega 1'' and '' Vega 2'' were uncrewed spacecraft launched in a cooperative effort among the Soviet ...

Vega 1 Vega 1 (along with its twin Vega 2) was a Soviet space probe, part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier '' Venera'' craft. They were designed by Babakin Space Centre and constructed as 5VK by Lavochkin at Khim ...

Vega 2 Vega 2 (along with Vega 1) was a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program to explore Halley's comet and Venus. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier '' Venera'' craft. The name VeGa (ВеГа) combines the first two letters Russian w ...

* ''Galileo'' spacecraft * ''Magellan'' spacecraft * '' Cassini–Huygens'' * ''

Venus Express ''Venus Express'' (VEX) was the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. ...

'' * '' MESSENGER'' * ''Akatsuki'' spacecraft * IKAROS * '' Shin'en''

Cancelled missions to explore Venus

* TMK * Manned Venus Flyby

Future of Venus exploration

Colonization of Venus The colonization of Venus has been a subject of many works of science fiction since before the dawn of spaceflight, and is still discussed from both a fictional and a scientific standpoint. However, with the discovery of Venus's extremely hostil ...

* Terraforming of Venus

Proposed missions to explore Venus

Venera-D Venera-D (russian: Венера-Д, ) is a proposed Russian space mission to Venus that would include an orbiter and a lander to be launched in 2029. The orbiter's prime objective is to perform observations with the use of a radar. The lander, ba ...

Venus In-Situ Explorer The Venus In Situ Explorer (VISE) has been a lander mission concept proposed since 2003 by the Planetary Science Decadal Survey as a space probe designed to answer fundamental scientific questions by landing and performing experiments on Venus. ...

* Venus Entry Probe * Shukrayaan-1

Venus in popular culture

Venus in fiction The planet Venus has been used as a setting in fiction since before the 19th century. Its impenetrable cloud cover gave science fiction writers free rein to speculate on conditions at its surface; the planet was often depicted as warmer than Ea ...

** Venusians

References

External links

Venus profile
at NASA's Solar System Exploration site

an

at the

National Space Science Data Center The NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) serves as the permanent archive for NASA space science mission data. "Space science" includes astronomy and astrophysics, solar and space plasma physics, and planetary and lunar science. A ...

Soviet Exploration of Venus
an

at Mentallandscape.com

at ''

The Nine Planets The Nine Planets is a multimedia website by Bill Arnett containing information about the Solar System. It was one of the first examples of a multimedia website when it first appeared on the World Wide Web in 1994 and, as was common for high traff ...

''
Transits of Venus
at NASA.gov
Geody Venus
a search engine for surface features ; Cartographic resources

by the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Venus
by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

Venus crater database
by the

Lunar and Planetary Institute The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is a scientific research institute dedicated to study of the Solar System, its formation, evolution, and current state. The Institute is part of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and is sup ...

Map of Venus
by Eötvös Loránd University {{Outline footer *