Venus is the the second planet of the Solar System in order of distance from the Sun,
being located 0.72 astronomical units from it in the inner solar system.
It has a similar size and composition to Earth,
with a diameter of 12,104 kilometers and a mass of 4.87 x 10^24 kilograms.
The planet has a slow retrograde rotation, meaning it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction to its orbit around the sun,
taking 243 Earth days to complete one rotation.
Venus has a thick atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide with trace amounts of nitrogen and other gases,
as well as sulfuric acid clouds that obscure the surface from visible light.
Due to its thick atmosphere and runaway greenhouse effect it
experiences extreme surface temperatures, with a maximum temperature of 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius).
Venus has been observed and studied since ancient times, with the earliest recorded observations dating back to Babylonian astronomers in the 17th century BCE.
Venus is in the constellation of
Pisces,
at a distance of 62,801,817.0 kilometers from Earth.
The current Right Ascension is
00h 19m 23s
and the Declination is +06° 51’ 03”
(apparent coordinates).
The magnitude of Venus is -4.87 (data provided by JPL Horizons).
Sky map showing Venus in Pisces on February, 15 2025.
Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Venus is right now.
Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
customized Quick Access page,
so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Venus from Earth is currently 62,801,817.0 kilometers,
equivalent to 0.4198042172Astronomical Units.
Light takes
3m 29.484s to travel from Venus and arrive to us.
62,801,817.0
0.4198042172
3m 29.484s
The following chart shows the distance of Venus from Earth as a function of time.
In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with
an interval of 1 day.
Chart of the distance of Venus from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.
The value of the distance of Venus from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the
Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499,
the closest approach of
Venus to Earth happens on
Sat Dec 12 1615 at a distance of
0.264008 Astronomical Units, or
39,494,992 kilometers:
Sat Dec 12 1615
39,494,992
0.264008
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed
with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve
(visual magnitude as a function of time) of Venus,
according to the most recent ephemerides data.
Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies
for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies
between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Chart of the magnitude of Venus as a function of time
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Venus.
Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter
Value
Relative to Earth
Diameter
12103.6 km
0.9499
Mass
4.86732 x 1024 kg
0.8150
Density
5.243 gr/cm3
0.9510
Escape Velocity
10.36 km/s
0.9258
Sideral Rotation
-5,832.4320 hours
-243.6833
Absolute Magnitude
-4.47
Geometric Albedo
0.65
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Venus computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval.
Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
Physical data. Detailed
information about physical properties of Venus, such as mass and geometric properties.
15 days ephemerides. Table
showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Venus for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Venus in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Venus with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.