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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of Venus in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Venus
Venus is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of Venus in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of Venus against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of Venus from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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
The following graph shows the distance of Venus from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of Venus from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1600 and December 30, 2499, the closest approach of Venus to Earth happened on Saturday 12 December 1615 at a distance of 0.264008 Astronomical Units, or 39,494,992 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of Venus, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of Venus.
| 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.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 04h 17m 58s | +18° 54’ 20” | -4.09 | 16.6” | Taurus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 04h 22m 36s | +19° 07’ 19” | -4.08 | 16.5” | Taurus |
| Jul 12 2025 | 04h 27m 15s | +19° 19’ 56” | -4.08 | 16.4” | Taurus |
| Jul 13 2025 | 04h 31m 56s | +19° 32’ 08” | -4.07 | 16.2” | Taurus |
| Jul 14 2025 | 04h 36m 37s | +19° 43’ 57” | -4.07 | 16.1” | Taurus |
| Jul 15 2025 | 04h 41m 20s | +19° 55’ 19” | -4.06 | 16.0” | Taurus |
| Jul 16 2025 | 04h 46m 04s | +20° 06’ 16” | -4.06 | 15.9” | Taurus |
| Jul 17 2025 | 04h 50m 49s | +20° 16’ 46” | -4.05 | 15.8” | Taurus |
| Jul 18 2025 | 04h 55m 36s | +20° 26’ 50” | -4.05 | 15.7” | Taurus |
| Jul 19 2025 | 05h 00m 24s | +20° 36’ 24” | -4.04 | 15.6” | Taurus |
| Jul 20 2025 | 05h 05m 12s | +20° 45’ 32” | -4.04 | 15.5” | Taurus |
| Jul 21 2025 | 05h 10m 02s | +20° 54’ 09” | -4.03 | 15.4” | Taurus |
| Jul 22 2025 | 05h 14m 52s | +21° 02’ 18” | -4.03 | 15.3” | Taurus |
| Jul 23 2025 | 05h 19m 44s | +21° 09’ 56” | -4.02 | 15.2” | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Venus: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is Venus?: Key information on where to find Venus in the sky.
- Distance of Venus from Earth: Find out how far Venus is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Venus?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of Venus from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of Venus's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of Venus's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Venus's computed ephemeris.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of Venus.