Last Reviewed:August 30, 2022 by Gabrielle Marks
Is Venus Bigger Than Earth?
Venus is NOT bigger than Earth. Actually, Venus is slightly smaller than Earth. Venus and Earth are sometimes called sister planets because they are close to each other in proximity and size.
Venus is Slightly Smaller than the Earth
Venus has a diameter of about 95 percent of the Earth’s diameter and about 80 percent of the mass of the Earth. Venus has a diameter of 12,103.6 km and a similar density and chemical composition to Earth.
Venus Has Highly Dense Atmosphere and Slow Rotation
Despite being similar to Earth in size and distance from the sun, Venus has a prolonged rotation with 243 Earth days per Venus day. The Venus year is slightly shorter than the Venus day. Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere with about 90 atmospheres of pressure at the surface of the planet. The atmosphere contains sulfuric acid and other poisonous gases, and global warming heats the planet’s surface to temperatures higher than the surface of Mercury, reaching 480 degrees Celsius or 896 degrees Fahrenheit.
Venus Cannot Support Life as We Know It
While Venus was once a very romanticized planet and science fiction writers imagined life beneath its thick clouds, Venus no longer contains water and cannot support life.
