Venus
Mercury
Diameterkm
12,104
4,879
Mass (Earth = 1)x
0.81
0.06
Surface Gravitym/s²
8.87
3.70
Mean Temperature°C
+462
+167
Distance from SunAU
0.72
0.39
Orbital Perioddays
224.7
87.97
Day Lengthhours
2802.00
4222.60
Known Moons
0
0
Axial Tilt°
177.36
0.03
Orbital Velocitykm/s
35.02
47.36
Quick Facts
Venus
- -Venus spins so slowly that its day (243 Earth days) is longer than its year (225 Earth days).
- -Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system at 462°C, despite Mercury being closer to the Sun.
- -Venus rotates in the opposite direction to most planets, so the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
- -The atmospheric pressure on Venus's surface is 92 times that of Earth -- like being 900 meters underwater.
Mercury
- -Mercury's day-night cycle lasts 176 Earth days -- longer than its year of 88 Earth days.
- -A person weighing 68 kg on Earth would weigh only 25.7 kg on Mercury.
- -Mercury has ice in permanently shadowed craters near its poles despite surface temperatures reaching 430°C.
- -Mercury is shrinking -- its circumference has decreased by about 14 km as its core slowly cools and contracts.