Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is the second brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus is the second largest terrestrial planet and is sometimes referred to as the Earth’s sister planet due the their similar size and mass. The surface of the planet is obscured by an opaque layer of clouds made up of sulfuric acid.

Planet Profile Mass: 4,867,320,000,000,000 billion kg (0.815 x Earth)

Equatorial Diameter: 12,104 km

Polar Diameter: 12,104 km

Equatorial Circumference: 38,025 km

Known Satellites: none

Notable Satellites: none

Orbit Distance: 108,209,475 km (0.73 AU)

Orbit Period: 224.70 Earth days

Surface Temperature: 462 °C

First Record: 17th century BC

Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers