

The planet completes a revolution around the Sun every 224.65 Earth days, which means that a year on Venus last about 61.5% as long as a year on Earth. In fact, with its farthest orbit (aphelion) of 0.728 AU (108,939,000 km) and closest orbit (perihelion) of 0.718 AU (107,477,000 km), it has the most circular orbit of any planet in the Solar System.

For starters, it orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 0.72 AU (108,000,000 km 67,000,000 mi) with almost no eccentricity. In Venus’ case, things work a little differently. Credit: Sky and Telescope Orbital Period: So while it takes the Earth one day (24 hours) to rotate once on its axis, it takes one year (365.256 days) to revolve once around the Sun.Įarth and Venus’ orbit compared. This is different from a planet’s revolution, which is the time it takes for a planet to orbit around another object (i.e.

Rotation is the time it takes for a planet to spin once on its axis. When discussing Venus’ rotation, it is important to note certain distinctions. In addition, the planet’s rotation is immensely slow by comparison, taking 243.025 days to complete a single rotation, and rotating backwards relative to Earth. For one, Venus has an atmosphere that is incredibly dense (92 times that of Earth, in fact) and reaches temperatures that are hot enough to melt lead. It also orbits within our Sun’s habitable zone, and had a similarly violent volcanic past.īut of course, there are also some major differences between our two planets. As a terrestrial planet, it is similarly composed of silicate rock and metals – which are differentiated between a metal core and a silicate crust and mantle. Venus is often refereed to as “Earth’s sister planet”, thanks to the number of things it has in common with our planet.
