Other Times to See Venus
On rare occasions, Venus aligns perfectly with the Sun and the Earth and can be observed as a black spot crossing—or transiting—the Sun’s disk. However, the next transit of Venus will not be until December 10/11, 2117.
Venus can also be seen as a bright star close to the obscured Sun during a total solar eclipse.
When is the next total solar eclipse?
Venus can often be seen next to a Crescent Moon in the morning or (as above) evening sky.
©iStock.com/shaunl
How Long Is a Day and a Year?
Of all the planets in our solar system, Venus rotates the slowest: it takes around 243 Earth days to complete one spin (compared to Earth’s roughly 24 hours). Venus and Uranus are the only planets with retrograde rotation. This means the direction of their spin (clockwise, as seen from above the Sun’s north pole) is the opposite direction to their orbit around the Sun (counterclockwise).
A tropical year on Venus is approximately 225 Earth days. A Venusian solar day is about 117 Earth days.
How Many Moons Does Venus Have?
Venus and Mercury are the only planets in the solar system with no moons.
Spacecraft cannot survive for long on Venus’s hellish surface. This photo was taken by the Venera 13 lander during its 127 minutes of operating time on March 1, 1982.
©ROSCOSMOS
Human Exploration of Venus
The earliest known recorded observations of Venus date back to around the 17th century BCE in Babylon. In 1610 Galileo observed the planet with a telescope and found it showed phases similar to the Moon’s.
The first successful spacecraft mission to Venus—or any other planet—was Mariner 2. It flew by the planet at a distance of about 34,800 kilometers (21,600 miles) on December 14, 1962. A few years later, the Venera 3 spacecraft crash-landed on Venus on March 1, 1966, becoming the first man-made object to strike the surface of another planet.
A decade later, on October 22, 1975, the Venera 9 lander survived for 53 minutes before succumbing to Venus’s high temperatures and pressures. While it was functioning, it sent back the first photographs from the surface of another planet.
How Long Does It Take to Get to Venus?
The best time to travel to Venus is when it is closest to the Earth, around the time of inferior conjunction. This launch window occurs approximately every one year and seven months. A typical journey time is around four or five months.
Mariner 2
- Launched: August 27, 1962
- Arrived: December 14, 1962 (flyby)
- Journey time: 3 months and 17 days
Venera 9
- Launched: June 8, 1975
- Arrived: October 22, 1975 (landed)
- Journey time: 4 months and 14 days
Venus Express
- Launched: November 9, 2005
- Arrived: April 11, 2006 (entered orbit)
- Journey time: 5 months and 2 days
All dates are shown in UTC.