Live observing guide
Venus is usually the easiest planet to identify, shining intensely before sunrise or after sunset.
BEYOND TONIGHT'S VIEW
Know this planet
- A year
- 224.7 days
- One orbit around the Sun · Earth days
- One rotation
- 243.02 days
- Retrograde · opposite to Earth's spin
- Diameter
- 12,104 km
- Measured across the equator
- Mass
- 4.87 × 1024 kg
- Total mass of the planet
- Mean temperature
- 464 °C
- Surface average; local temperatures vary
- Known moons
- 0
- Confirmed natural satellites
- Distance from Sun
- 108.2 million km
- Average distance along its orbit
- Gravity
- 8.9 m/s²
- Effective gravity at the equator
- Mean density
- 5,243 kg/m³
- Mass divided by volume
- Ring system
- No
- No known planetary rings
Rounded values. Moon counts checked on ; new discoveries can change the totals.
Beginners, twilight observing, and watching planetary phases
- An exceptionally bright white point
- A crescent or gibbous phase through a telescope
- Little visible surface detail because of its clouds
Observing tips
What you can really see
Venus is a brilliant point to the naked eye. A telescope shows a phase, rather like a tiny Moon.
Its thick clouds hide the surface; do not expect continents or the details in spacecraft pictures.
Before you leave
- Choose an unobstructed horizon for the time shown, rather than a spot behind buildings.
- Use binoculars or a telescope only while the Sun is below the horizon. Never sweep near the Sun.
How to observe
- Find the bright point in the indicated direction with your eyes.
- Use low magnification first; look for whether the lit part is crescent-shaped or fuller.
- For a morning session, put optics away before the Sun rises.