Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and is the hottest planet in the Solar System.

It’s about the same size as Earth, but it rotates in a retrograde (backwards) direction and has a much thicker atmosphere; standing on the surface of Venus would feel like standing 1km down under the sea on Earth!

Until 1962, when Mariner 2 passed by, it was thought that there were oceans on this most brilliant of planets. We now know that Venus is far too hot to have water on the surface; it’s covered in deadly volcanoes and was probably shaped by the movement of tectonic plates.

Average distance from the Sun:  108,200,000km 
                                                (67,230,000miles)

Length of year:                          225 Earth days

Diameter:                                 12,102km (7520miles)

Average temperature:                896°F (480°C)