Venus reflects more sunlight than any other planet, yet it is the hottest planet in the solar system - hotter even than Mercury, which orbits twice as close to the Sun. Drag the slider to see the qualitative idea of a thicker greenhouse blanket, then jump straight to Venus's real measured composition and temperature.
Published figures: Venus surface temperature about 464 C (737 K), constant day and night; surface pressure about 92 bar; atmosphere about 96.5% CO2; cloud deck about 48-70 km; Bond albedo 0.76. Mercury dayside max about 430 C, night min about -180 C, despite orbiting at 0.39 AU versus Venus's 0.72 AU.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Drag the CO2 slider or press the reset button, and toggle the cloud deck, the Mercury comparison sphere, or the pressure bars on and off.
Venus Runaway Greenhouse 3D Explorer
Venus reflects about 76% of the sunlight that reaches it - more than any other planet - and yet it is the hottest planet in the solar system, hotter than Mercury even though Mercury orbits roughly twice as close to the Sun. This explorer shows why: it is not sunlight that makes Venus hot, it is the atmosphere trapping heat.
Drag the CO2 slider to see a thicker greenhouse haze visually, or press the reset button to jump straight to Venus's real measured composition: about 96.5% carbon dioxide, a surface pressure about 92 times Earth's, and a surface temperature of about 464 C (737 K) that barely changes between day and night.
- Drag the CO2 slider from 0 to 100%, or press "Real Venus" to snap to the measured composition
- Toggle the sulfuric-acid cloud deck (about 48-70 km altitude) on or off
- Toggle a to-scale Mercury comparison sphere to see the temperature contrast
- Toggle a surface-pressure bar comparison (Venus, Earth, Mercury)
- Read the current state and a full figures table in the facts panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Venus surface temperature | about 464 C (737 K), essentially constant day and night |
| Venus surface pressure | about 92 bar |
| Venus atmosphere composition | about 96.5% CO2, about 3.5% N2 |
| Venus cloud deck altitude | about 48 to about 70 km (sulfuric acid) |
| Venus Bond albedo | 0.76 (reflects about 76% of incoming sunlight) |
| Venus distance from the Sun | about 0.72 AU (about 108 million km) |
| Mercury distance from the Sun | about 0.39 AU (about 58 million km) |
| Mercury dayside maximum temperature | about 430 C (the equatorial "hot poles") |
| Mercury night minimum temperature | about -180 C |
| Earth surface pressure (for comparison) | about 1 bar |
The comparison is the whole story: Mercury sits at 0.39 AU from the Sun and receives far more sunlight per square meter than Venus does at 0.72 AU, yet Mercury has almost no atmosphere to hold that heat, so its dayside still tops out around 430 C while its night side plunges to about -180 C. Venus, farther from the Sun and reflecting three-quarters of the sunlight it receives, stays at a nearly uniform 464 C everywhere, all the time, because its thick CO2 atmosphere traps outgoing heat and redistributes it around the whole planet.
For Venus's backwards spin direction and unusually long day, see the Venus Retrograde Rotation Explorer. For the telescope-visible phases of Venus as seen from Earth, see the Venus Phases (Galileo) Explorer. This page instead covers Venus's atmospheric energy balance - a different physical story from either.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation, not a live radiative-transfer or climate model - the slider changes only the haze color and opacity to illustrate the qualitative idea that more greenhouse gas traps more heat. It does not compute a temperature from a physics formula. The one real number shown, 464 C (737 K), is Venus's own measured surface temperature, displayed at Venus's real composition point on the slider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Venus hotter than Mercury if Mercury is closer to the Sun?
Mercury orbits at about 0.39 AU and receives far more sunlight per square meter than Venus does at 0.72 AU, but Mercury has almost no atmosphere to hold that heat, so it swings between about 430 C on its dayside and about -180 C at night. Venus's thick CO2 atmosphere traps outgoing heat and redistributes it around the whole planet, holding a nearly uniform 464 C everywhere, day and night.
What is Venus's atmosphere made of?
About 96.5% carbon dioxide and about 3.5% nitrogen, with a surface pressure about 92 times Earth's - roughly the pressure found about 900 meters deep in Earth's ocean.
How high are Venus's clouds?
Venus's clouds are made of sulfuric acid droplets and sit at roughly 48 to 70 km altitude - much higher than Earth's water clouds.
Does Venus reflect a lot of sunlight?
Yes - Venus has a Bond albedo of 0.76, meaning it reflects about 76% of the sunlight that reaches it, the highest of any planet in the solar system. That high reflectivity is exactly why the greenhouse effect, not incoming sunlight, is what makes Venus so hot.
Does the CO2 slider compute a real temperature?
No. The slider changes only the haze color and opacity to illustrate the qualitative idea that more greenhouse gas traps more heat - it is not a radiative-transfer or climate calculation. The one real number displayed, 464 C (737 K), is Venus's own measured surface temperature, shown at Venus's real composition point (about 96.5% CO2).
Is this the same as the Venus rotation or Venus phases pages?
No. This page covers Venus's atmospheric energy balance. The Venus Retrograde Rotation Explorer covers Venus's backwards spin direction and day length, and the Venus Phases (Galileo) Explorer covers the telescope-visible phases of Venus - three different physical stories about the same planet.