# How far away is Venus right now? > Venus's distance from Earth, live. The planet that comes closest to us, nearly Earth's size, hotter than Mercury, and spinning backwards. HTML: https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets/venus Numbers as of 2026-10-31 03:42 UTC. Live ones keep changing on the HTML page. Right now Venus is about 41.6 million kilometres from Earth, and the gap changes every second. A radio message, moving at the speed of light, needs 2.3 minutes to cross it. No planet comes closer to us. At its nearest, Venus is 38.2 million kilometres away; on the far side of the Sun, 261 million. The next close approach is on 1 June 2028. - Time until Venus's next close approach to Earth: 579 d 06 h 00 m 58 s - Average surface temperature of Venus: 464 °C - Length of a solar day on Venus (sunrise to sunrise): 117 days ## Earth's twin, at first sight What is Venus? Venus is the second planet from the Sun, the next world in from Earth. Like Earth, it is made of rock and metal, with mountains and volcanoes on its solid ground. In size it is almost our double. Its width is 0.95 of Earth's, and its mass 0.81 of ours. That is why Venus is sometimes called Earth's twin. But we never see that ground from here. Venus is wrapped in thick clouds of sulfuric acid that hide it completely. We see only their tops, lit by the Sun. After the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest thing in our sky. Ancient watchers thought it was two objects, a morning star and an evening star. The Romans named it after their goddess of love and beauty. It is the only planet named after a female god. ## Why the distance keeps changing The next close approach Earth and Venus both circle the Sun, like runners on a track. Venus has the inside lane and the faster pace, so it gains on us. It laps Earth once every 1.6 years. Each time it overtakes us, Venus passes between Earth and the Sun. That is when it comes closest, and astronomers call the line-up an inferior conjunction. Then Venus is lost in the Sun's glare, and turns its night side towards us. Afterwards it swings out to the side of the Sun and shines in the evening or the morning sky. Months later it lies beyond the Sun, as far as 261 million kilometres away. So Venus comes nearest of all the planets, yet spends long spells far off. Averaged over time, it is about 1.14 times the Earth–Sun distance away, a little farther than Mercury. The clock on this page counts down to the next close approach, on 1 June 2028. ## A hello that takes minutes Right now Radio waves are a kind of light, and nothing travels faster. Even so, a message to Venus takes time. At today's distance it needs 2.3 minutes to arrive. When Venus passes between us and the Sun, the wait is shortest of any planet's: 2.1 minutes at the closest. That is less than the 499 seconds sunlight needs to reach us: at those times Venus is nearer to us than the Sun is. When Venus is beyond the Sun, the wait grows many times longer. A radar echo bounced off Venus makes the trip twice, there and back. Radio did more than carry messages here. Light cannot get through the clouds, but radio waves can. NASA's Magellan spacecraft used radar to map the hidden surface, until its mission ended in 1994. It found a land of volcanoes and long mountain chains. The surface looks young, recently reshaped as planets go. Most of the places on those maps are named after women. ## The hottest planet Average temperature Venus is about 1.9 times as far from the Sun as Mercury. Yet it is the hottest planet of all. Its surface sits at about 464 °C, hot enough to melt lead. Earth's average is 15 °C. The heat comes from its air. Venus's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, and very thick. Sunlight gets in, but the heat cannot get out. From day to night, the temperature hardly changes. That air also presses down hard. At the surface its weight is about 91 times the air pressure on Earth at sea level. NASA compares it to being more than 930 metres under water. Between 1970 and 1982, eight Soviet Venera landers reached the ground and radioed back what they found. Two Soviet Vega landers followed in 1985. The longest-lived, Venera 13, kept working for just over two hours. ## A day that runs backwards Sunrise to sunrise Venus spins very slowly, and the wrong way round compared with Earth. So on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. A year on Venus, one lap round the Sun, lasts about 225 Earth days. Its day is stranger. One full turn takes 243 days. That is longer than its year: a single turn lasts about 1.1 Venus years. But because Venus turns backwards as it travels, the Sun crosses its sky a little faster than the spin alone. From one sunrise to the next takes 117 days. A Venus year holds only about 1.9 of its own days. Earth's tilt gives us summer and winter. Venus tilts by only three degrees, too little for seasons, NASA says. Under the clouds, every day is much like the last. And no moon lights its long nights: Venus is one of only two planets without one. ## FAQ ### How far away is Venus right now? About 41.6 million kilometres, from the centre of Earth to the centre of Venus. The number on this page is live. It swings between 38.2 million and 261 million kilometres. ### Is Venus the closest planet to Earth? It comes the closest of any planet. But on average, Mercury is nearer: about 1.04 times the Earth–Sun distance, against 1.14 for Venus. Venus spends long spells on the far side of the Sun. Three physicists showed this in Physics Today in 2019. ### Is Venus Earth's twin? In size, nearly: its width is 0.95 of Earth's and its mass 0.81 of ours. In everything else, no. Its surface is about 464 °C, its air presses about 91 times as hard as ours, and its clouds are acid. NASA calls it Earth's "evil twin". ### When is Venus closest to Earth next? On 1 June 2028, when it passes between Earth and the Sun. It happens about every 1.6 years. Near that day Venus is hidden in the Sun's glare. Weeks before and after, it shines brightly in the evening or the morning sky. ### How long does it take Venus to orbit the Sun? A year on Venus, one trip round the Sun, lasts about 225 Earth days. Because its days are so long, a Venus year holds only about 1.9 of them, from sunrise to sunrise. ### How long is a day on Venus? From one sunrise to the next takes 117 days. One turn on its axis takes longer still, 243 days, more than a Venus year. And the Sun rises in the west. ## Related - [Mercury](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets/mercury.md) - [Mars](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets/mars.md) - [Planets](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets.md) The bright light low in the west after sunset is often Venus. It is a world almost the size of ours, under a sky we could never breathe. When you next see it, what will you wish for the planet next door? ## Sources - Air pressure at the surface of Venus, in times Earth's at sea level (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html); [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html); [NASA Science: Venus Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/venus/venus-facts/) - Average surface temperature of Earth (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Average surface temperature of Venus (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Average time between Venus's close approaches to Earth (synodic period) (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Earth's diameter at the equator (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Equatorial diameter of Venus (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Largest possible distance between Earth and Venus (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Length of a solar day on Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Length of a solar day on Venus (sunrise to sunrise) (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html); [NASA Science: Venus Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/venus/venus-facts/) - Length of a year on Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Length of a year on Venus (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Length of one turn of Venus (sidereal day) (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Mass of the Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Mass of Venus (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Mercury's average distance from Earth, over time (Measured): [Physics Today (AIP): Venus is not Earth's closest neighbor (Stockman, Monroe & Cordner, 12 March 2019)](https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190312a) - Mercury's average distance from the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Mercury Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/mercuryfact.html) - Smallest possible distance between Earth and Venus (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Speed of light in a vacuum (Measured): [BIPM: SI defining constants](https://www.bipm.org/en/measurement-units/si-defining-constants) - The Moon's average distance from Earth (Measured): [NASA: Moon Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/) - The Moon's mean diameter (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Moon Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html) - Time sunlight takes to reach Earth, at the mean Earth–Sun distance (1 au) (Measured): [International Astronomical Union (hosted by SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris): IAU 2012 Resolution B2 on the re-definition of the astronomical unit of length](https://syrte.obspm.fr/IAU_resolutions/Res_IAU2012_B2.pdf); [BIPM: SI defining constants](https://www.bipm.org/en/measurement-units/si-defining-constants); [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Time until Venus's next close approach to Earth (Measured): [NASA JPL: JPL Horizons API, Venus geocentric vectors (geometric), one-minute steps around 2028-06-01](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&COMMAND='299'&OBJ_DATA='NO'&MAKE_EPHEM='YES'&EPHEM_TYPE='VECTORS'&CENTER='500@399'&START_TIME='2028-06-01%2008%3A30'&STOP_TIME='2028-06-01%2011%3A30'&STEP_SIZE='1m'&VEC_TABLE='3'&VEC_CORR='NONE'&OUT_UNITS='KM-S'&TIME_TYPE='UT'&CSV_FORMAT='YES'); [NASA JPL: JPL Horizons API, Venus geocentric vectors (geometric), daily, 2026-10-28 to 2041-01-01](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&COMMAND='299'&OBJ_DATA='NO'&MAKE_EPHEM='YES'&EPHEM_TYPE='VECTORS'&CENTER='500@399'&START_TIME='2026-10-28'&STOP_TIME='2041-01-01'&STEP_SIZE='1d'&VEC_TABLE='3'&VEC_CORR='NONE'&OUT_UNITS='KM-S'&TIME_TYPE='UT'&CSV_FORMAT='YES') - Typical cruising speed of a long-haul airliner (Estimated): [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: B789 (Boeing 787-9)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=B789); [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: A388 (Airbus A380-800)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=A388) - Venus's average distance from Earth, over time (Measured): [Physics Today (AIP): Venus is not Earth's closest neighbor (Stockman, Monroe & Cordner, 12 March 2019)](https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190312a) - Venus's average distance from the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html) - Venus's distance from Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Venus Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html)