Venus, second from the and sixth in the in size and mass. No planet approaches closer to than Venus; at its nearest it is the closest large body to Earth other than the . Because Venus’s orbit is nearer the Sun than Earth’s, the planet is always roughly in the same direction in the sky as the Sun and can be seen only in the hours near sunrise or sunset. When it is visible, it is the most brilliant planet in the sky. Venus is designated by the symbol ♀.colour-coded global image of the topography of Venus Colour-coded global image of the topography of Venus below its obscuring clouds, based on radar data from the Magellan spacecraft with supplemental data from Venera and Pioneer Venus missions and Earth-based radar studies. Violet hues mark the lowest elevations; red and pink hues, the highest ones. The hemisphere shown is centred on 0° longitude; north is at the top. The prominent red and pink region in the far north is the planet's highest terrain, Maxwell Montes. (more)Venus was one of the five planets—along with Mercury, , , and —known in ancient times, and its motions were observed and studied for centuries prior to the invention of advanced astronomical instruments. Its appearances were recorded by the , who equated it with the goddess , about 3000 bce, and it also is mentioned prominently in the astronomical records of other ancient civilizations, including those of China, , , and Greece. Like the planet , Venus was known in ancient Greece by two different names—Phosphorus (see ) when it appeared as a morning star and when it appeared as an evening star. Its modern name comes from the of love and beauty (the Greek equivalent being ), perhaps because of the planet’s luminous jewel-like appearance.Venus has been called ’s twin because of the similarities in their masses, sizes, and densities and their similar relative locations in the solar system. Because they presumably formed in the from the same kind of rocky planetary building blocks, they also likely have similar overall chemical compositions. Early observations of the planet revealed a perpetual veil of clouds, suggestive of a substantial and leading to popular speculation that Venus was a warm, wet world, perhaps similar to Earth during its prehistoric age of swampy forests and abundant life. Scientists now know, however, that Venus and Earth have evolved surface conditions that could hardly be more different. Venus is extremely hot, dry, and in other ways so forbidding that it is improbable that life as it is understood on Earth could have developed there. One of scientists’ major goals in studying Venus is to understand how its harsh conditions came about, which may hold important lessons about the causes of environmental change on Earth.Planetary data for Venus *Time required for the planet to return to the same position in the sky relative to the Sun as seen from Earth. mean distance from Sun 108,209,475 km (0.72 AU) eccentricity of orbit 0.007 inclination of orbit to ecliptic 3.4° Venusian year (sidereal period of revolution) 224.7 Earth days maximum visual magnitude −4.6 mean synodic period* 584 Earth days mean orbital velocity 35 km/sec radius (mean) 6,051.8 km surface area 4.6 × 108 km2 mass 4.87 × 1024 kg mean density 5.24 g/cm3 mean surface gravity 887 cm/sec2 escape velocity 10.4 km/sec rotation period (Venusian sidereal day) 243 Earth days (retrograde) Venusian mean solar day 116.8 Earth days inclination of equator to orbit 177.3° atmospheric composition carbon dioxide, 96%; molecular nitrogen, 3.5%; water, 0.02%; trace quantities of carbon monoxide, molecular oxygen, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and other gases mean surface temperature 737 K (867 °F, 464 °C) surface pressure at mean radius 95 bars mean visible cloud temperature about 230 K (−46 °F, −43 °C) number of known moons none Basic astronomical data Viewed through a , Venus presents a brilliant yellow-white, essentially featureless face to the observer. Its obscured appearance results from the surface of the planet being hidden from sight by a continuous and permanent cover of . Features in the clouds are difficult to see in visible light. When observed at wavelengths, the clouds exhibit distinctive dark markings, with complex swirling patterns near the equator and global-scale bright and dark bands that are V-shaped and open toward the west. Because of the all-enveloping clouds, little was known about Venus’s surface, atmosphere, and evolution before the early 1960s, when the first observations were undertaken and spacecraft made the first flybys of the planet., Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker and denser than Earth and any other rocky body in the Solar System., Venus, second planet from the Sun and sixth in the solar system in size and mass. No planet approaches closer to Earth than Venus; at its nearest it is the closest large body to Earth other than the Moon..