A comparison of terrestrial planets

Venus compared to Earth

Venus, Mars and Earth, three out of the four inner or ‘rocky’ planets of the Solar System, have a lot in common – a solid surface you could walk on, a comparable surface composition, an atmosphere and a weather system.

If you are looking for a twin sister to Earth, that would be Venus... or is it?

   Venus Earth
Mass 4.87 x 1024 kg 5.98 x 1024 kg
Radius 6052 km 6378 km
Density 5250 kg/m3 5520 kg/m3
Av. distance from Sun 108 million km 150 million km
Rotation period (day) 243 Earth days (retrograde) 23 hours 56 minutes
Orbit period (year) 224.7 Earth days 365.2 days
Surface temp. (mean) 465 °C 15 °C
Surface pressure 90 bar 1 bar (sea level)
Albedo (reflectivity) 0.76 0.37
Highest point on surface Maxwell Montes
(17 km)		 Mount Everest
(8.8 km)
Atmosphere 96% CO2 , 3% N2 78% N2 , 21% O2, 1% Ar
Surface composition Basalt rock, altered materials Basalt, granite, altered materials
Orbit inclination 3.4° 0° by definition
Obliquity of axis 178° 23.5°
Surface gravity (equator) 8.9 m/s2 9.8 m/s2
Moons None 1 (The Moon)
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