Sky Tonight — May 31, 2026
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Current Viewing Status
Dazzling in the evening sky right now! Venus blazes at magnitude −4.5 in the west after sunset — easily the brightest object in the sky after the Moon. Look west 45 minutes after sunset. Venus and Jupiter made a stunning "double planet" pairing on June 9. Venus will remain prominent in the evening sky all summer.
Venus is Earth's twisted twin — almost identical in size and mass, yet utterly alien. Its thick CO₂ atmosphere creates the most extreme greenhouse effect in the Solar System, raising surface temperatures to 464°C — hot enough to melt lead — even on the night side. Every spacecraft sent to the surface has been crushed or melted within hours.
Venus rotates so slowly — and backwards — that a day (243 Earth days) is longer than its year (225 days). The Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Venus's surface is hidden beneath thick sulfuric acid clouds, but radar mapping revealed thousands of volcanoes and vast lava plains.
In February 2026, scientists reanalyzing 30-year-old Magellan radar data discovered evidence of a massive underground lava tube beneath Venus — estimated to be hundreds of kilometers long, and the first such structure confirmed on another planet. Three new missions (DAVINCI+, VERITAS, EnVision) are planned for the late 2020s–early 2030s to study Venus in unprecedented detail.
Type
Rocky terrestrial planet
Distance from Sun
108.2M km · 0.72 AU
Diameter
12,104 km (95% Earth)
Day length
243 Earth days (retrograde)
Year length
225 Earth days
Surface temp
464°C (867°F) — hottest planet
Atmosphere
96.5% CO₂ · 92× Earth pressure
Rotation
Backwards — Sun rises in west
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Underground Lava Tube (2026)
A massive lava tube hundreds of km long was discovered beneath Venus's surface by reanalyzing 30-year-old Magellan radar data (Feb 2026). The first confirmed lava tube on another planet — reveals an active volcanic history deeper than previously known.
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Sulfuric Acid Clouds
Venus's thick cloud layers consist of sulfuric acid droplets. They reflect ~70% of sunlight (making Venus brilliant to observers) while trapping enormous heat — the ultimate greenhouse effect. The clouds at 50–60 km altitude have Earth-like temperatures and pressure.
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Retrograde Rotation
Venus spins backwards — possibly due to an ancient giant impact. This means the Sun rises in the west. Venus's "day" (243 Earth days) is longer than its "year" (225 days) — the only planet where this is true.
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Potential Life in the Clouds?
The 50–60 km altitude cloud layer has Earth-like temperatures (0–50°C) and pressure. A 2020 claim of phosphine gas — potentially a biosignature — remains controversial. Future missions will investigate whether Venus's clouds could harbor microbial life.
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NASA
DAVINCI+ (Planned 2029)
Atmospheric descent probe — will analyze Venus's atmosphere layer by layer during a 63-minute fall to the surface, testing whether Venus once had oceans.
🔭 PlannedNASA
VERITAS (Planned ~2031)
Orbital radar mapper to create the highest-resolution global map of Venus ever made — determining if Venus is still geologically active today.
🔭 PlannedESA
EnVision (Planned ~2031)
European Venus orbiter studying volcanic activity, atmosphere, and whether Venus was once habitable. Will coordinate with VERITAS.
🔭 PlannedUSSR
Venera 13 (1982)
The Soviet Venera program landed 10 craft on Venus. Venera 13 survived 127 minutes — the longest — and returned the only color images ever taken from Venus's surface.
✓ Historical
