Venus Fact Sheet
Venus/Earth Comparison
Bulk parameters
Venus Earth Ratio (Venus/Earth)
Mass (1024 kg) 4.8685 5.9736 0.815
Volume (1010 km3) 92.843 108.321 0.857
Equatorial radius (km) 6051.8 6378.1 0.949
Polar radius (km) 6051.8 6356.8 0.952
Volumetric mean radius (km) 6051.8 6371.0 0.950
Ellipticity (Flattening) 0.000 0.00335 0.0
Mean density (kg/m3) 5243 5515 0.951
Surface gravity (eq.) (m/s2) 8.87 9.78 0.907
Escape velocity (km/s) 10.36 11.19 0.926
GM (x 106 km3/s2) 0.3249 0.3986 0.815
Bond albedo 0.750 0.306 2.45
Visual geometric albedo 0.65 0.367 1.77
Visual magnitude V(1,0) -4.40 -3.86 -
Solar irradiance (W/m2) 2613.9 1367.6 1.911
Black-body temperature (K) 231.7 254.3 0.911
Topographic range (km) 15 20 0.750
Moment of inertia (I/MR2) 0.33 0.3308 0.998
J2 (x 10-6) 4.458 1082.63 0.004
Number of natural satellites 0 1
Planetary ring system No No
Orbital parameters
Venus Earth Ratio (Venus/Earth)
Semimajor axis (106 km) 108.21 149.60 0.723
Sidereal orbit period (days) 224.701 365.256 0.615
Tropical orbit period (days) 224.695 365.242 0.615
Perihelion (106 km) 107.48 147.09 0.731
Aphelion (106 km) 108.94 152.10 0.716
Synodic period (days) 583.92 - -
Mean orbital velocity (km/s) 35.02 29.78 1.176
Max. orbital velocity (km/s) 35.26 30.29 1.164
Min. orbital velocity (km/s) 34.79 29.29 1.188
Orbit inclination (deg) 3.39 0.00 -
Orbit eccentricity 0.0067 0.0167 0.401
Sidereal rotation period (hrs) -5832.5 23.9345 243.686
Length of day (hrs) 2802.0 24.0000 116.750
Obliquity to orbit (deg) 177.36 23.45 (0.113)
Venus Observational Parameters
Discoverer: Unknown
Discovery Date: Prehistoric
Distance from Earth
Minimum (106 km) 38.2
Maximum (106 km) 261.0
Apparent diameter from Earth
Maximum (seconds of arc) 66.0
Minimum (seconds of arc) 9.7
Maximum visual magnitude -4.6
Mean values at inferior conjunction with Earth
Distance from Earth (106 km) 41.44
Apparent diameter (seconds of arc) 60.2
Venus Mean Orbital Elements (J2000)
Semimajor axis (AU) 0.72333199
Orbital eccentricity 0.00677323
Orbital inclination (deg) 3.39471
Longitude of ascending node (deg) 76.68069
Longitude of perihelion (deg) 131.53298
Mean Longitude (deg) 181.97973
North Pole of Rotation
Right Ascension: 272.76
Declination : 67.16
Reference Date : 12:00 UT 1 Jan 2000 (JD 2451545.0)
Venus Atmosphere
Surface pressure: 92 bars
Surface density: ~65. kg/m3
Scale height: 15.9 km
Total mass of atmosphere: ~4.8 x 1020 kg
Average temperature: 737 K (464 C)
Diurnal temperature range: ~0
Wind speeds: 0.3 to 1.0 m/s (surface)
Mean molecular weight: 43.45 g/mole
Atmospheric composition (near surface, by volume):
Major: 96.5% Carbon Dioxide (CO2), 3.5% Nitrogen (N2)
Minor (ppm): Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - 150; Argon (Ar) - 70; Water (H2O) - 20;
Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 17; Helium (He) - 12; Neon (Ne) - 7
