Venus completes one rotation every 243 Earth days. It orbits the Sun every 224.65 Earth days. So its day is actually longer than its year!

Venus is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light.

Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, with an average temperature of 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius).

It is the only planet named after a woman.

It has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide.

The planet has no known natural satellites.

Venera 13 sent the first color image of Venus's surface and analysed the X-ray fluorescence of an excavated soil sample, operating for a record 127 minutes on the planet's hostile surface.

Only the Moon is brighter. In fact, with a magnitude of between -3.8 to -4.6, Venus is so bright it can sometimes be seen during the daytime.

The Soviet Union's Venera 1 space probe was launched in 1961, but lost radio contact before it flew past Venus, resulting in no data.

Astronomers know of more than 1,600 volcanoes on its surface, but there are likely many more too small for us to see.