1. Rotation: Venus rotates backwards (retrograde rotation) compared to most other planets, meaning the sun rises in the west and sets in the east
2. Day: 1 day on Venus (the time it takes Venus to rotate once around its axis) is equivalent to 243 days on Earth. 1 day on Venus is equivalent to about 117 days here on Earth
3. Year: 1 year on Venus (the time it takes Venus to rotate once around the sun) is equivalent to 225 days on Earth – i.e. 1 day is longer than 1 year on Venus
4. The sun: Venus is the second closest planet to the sun (Mercury is the closest) with a distance of 108 million km. In comparison, Earth’s distance is 150 million km
5. Appearance: Seen from Earth, Venus appears the brightest of all planets; this is due to the close proximity of the two planets and the way Venus’ clouds reflect sunlight
6. Characteristics: Venus has no moons, rings or global magnetic field. The atmosphere is thick and consists mainly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and sulphuric acid
7. Surface: Venus is a rocky planet where the landscape is characterized by volcanoes and craters
8. Volcanoes: On Venus, there are more than 1,000 volcanoes with a diameter of over 20 km. In comparison, Earth’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, has a diameter of 3-5 km
9. Craters: The craters on the surface of Venus have a minimum diameter of 1.5 km. This is because all smaller meteors burn up in the thick atmosphere and therefore do not reach the planet’s surface
10. Name: The name Venus comes from Roman mythology, where Venus was the goddess of love and beauty – just like the goddess Aphrodite from Greek mythology

Fact: The surface of Venus cannot be seen with conventional telescopes due to its thick atmosphere. However, the surface can be seen here thanks to infrared equipment on space probes that are close to the planet

More facts about Venus

• Earth’s sister planet: Besides being the closest planet to Earth, Venus is also very similar to Earth in size, gravity, density, mass and mass composition – hence Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth’s “sister planet”
• Extreme heat: The surface of Venus is very hot; 464 degrees on average – for reference, lead melts at 327 degrees! In addition, the pressure is enormous; about 90 times greater than on Earth – that’s equivalent to the pressure 1 km below sea level!
• Liv: The high average temperature of 464 degrees makes it unlikely that life (as we know it) exists on Venus
• Spacecraft: So far, more than 40 spacecraft have visited Venus. The few probes that have landed on Venus have not survived more than a few hours due to the extreme heat. The Magellan mission in the early 1990s mapped about 98% of the planet’s surface. Although we can’t normally see through Venus’ thick atmosphere, the Magellan mission used infrared equipment to map the surface. In 2010, the European Space Agency’s Venus Express proved that there has been volcanic activity on Venus within the last few hundred years and therefore Venus may still be volcanically active
• Venus Passage: During certain periods, Venus – like Mercury – can be seen passing over the sun. This phenomenon is also known as a Venus transit and is very rare. The last Venus transit was on June 06, 2012 and the next one is on December 11, 2117. Read more about venus passenger here