Information about the planet Venus
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Most frequently required information about Venus
Venus Diameter: 12,104 km, 0.948 Earth Diameters
Planetary Mass: 4.86x1024 kg, 0.82 Earth masses
Average Distance from Sun: 108 million km, 0.7233 AU (astronomical units)
Length of Day: 243 Earth days
Length of Year: 225 Earth days
Number of natural satellites: 0
Planetary ring system: No
Average temperature: 737 K (464 C)
Atmospheric composition: 96.5% Carbon Dioxide (CO2), 3.5% Nitrogen (N2)
AU stands for astronomical unit.
One AU is the average distance from the center of the Earth to the center of the Sun: 149,597,870 km
Venus
Mass (1024 kg) 4.8685
Volume (1010 km3) 92.843
Equatorial radius (km) 6051.8
Polar radius (km) 6051.8
Ellipticity (Flattening) 0.000
Mean density (kg/m3) 5243
Surface gravity (eq.) (m/s2) 8.87
Escape velocity (km/s) 10.36
Number of natural satellites 0
Planetary ring system No
Venus Orbital parameters
Semimajor axis (106 km) 108.21
Sidereal orbit period (days) 224.701
Perihelion (106 km) 107.48
Aphelion (106 km) 108.94
Synodic period (days) 583.92
Orbit inclination (deg) 3.39
Orbit eccentricity 0.0067
Sidereal rotation period (hrs) -5832.5
Length of day (hrs) 2802.0
Obliquity to orbit (deg) 177.36
Semimajor axis (106 km) Mean distance from the Sun (or other central body in the
case of satellites) from center to center in 10^6 kilometers
Sidereal orbit period (days) The time it takes the body to make one revolution about
the Sun relative to the fixed stars in days.
Synodic period (days) The time interval between similar configurations in the
orbit (e.g. opposition) of the body and Earth, in days.
Perihelion (106 km) The point in a body's orbit closest to the
Sun, in 10^6 kilometers.
Aphelion (106 km) The point in a body's orbit furthest from
the Sun, in 10^6 kilometers.
Orbit inclination (deg) The inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic, in degrees.
For satellites, this is with respect to the planet's
equator.
Orbit eccentricity A measure of the circularity of the orbit, equal to
(aphelion - perihelion distance)/(2 x semi-major axis)
For a circular orbit, eccentricity = 0.
Sidereal rotation period (hrs) The time for one rotation of the body on its axis
relative to the fixed stars, in hours. A minus sign
indicates retrograde rotation.
Length of day (hrs) The average time in hours for the Sun to move from the
noon position in the sky at a point on the equator back
to the same position, on Earth this defines a 24 hour day.
Obliquity to orbit (deg) The tilt of the body's equator relative to the body's
orbital plane, in degrees.
Venus Observational ParametersDiscoverer: 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 Atmosphere
Surface Pressure: 92 bars
Surface Density: ~65. kg/m3
Scale height: 15.9 km
Average temperature: 737 K (464 C)
Diurnal temperature range: ~0
Wind speeds: 0.3 to 1.0 m/s (surface)
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
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