Venus at aphelion
The orbit of Venus around the sun is not perfectly circular. As a result, the distance of Venus from the sun changes over time.
Venus reaches aphelion, meaning it reaches the farthest point from the sun in its elliptical orbit. Here, aphelion comes from two words: apo, meaning far away, and helios, meaning sun, more specifically the god of the sun in Greek mythology.
The average distance of Venus from the sun is 108,210,000 km, and at aphelion, it is 108,941,000 km, according to NASA.
Venus takes about 225 days to orbit the sun once. So it reaches aphelion every 225 days in its orbit.
When is the next aphelion of Venus in 2024?
Venus will reach its next aphelion on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 16:00 UTC (12 p.m. EDT), according to NASA.
Distance from the sun: During the aphelion, the distance of Venus from the sun will be 0.72820 A.U. or 108,937,169 km.
Distance from the earth: During the aphelion, the distance of Venus from the earth will be 1.18823 A.U. or 177,756,678 km.
Brightness: During the aphelion, Venus will shine with a magnitude of -3.8 in our sky.
Disk size: During the aphelion, the angular diameter of Venus will be 14 arcseconds.
Phase of Venus: During the aphelion, Venus will be in its waning gibbous phase and 78% illuminated.
Upcoming dates of aphelion of Venus
| Date | Time (UTC) | Distance from the sun (A.U.) |
|---|---|---|
| October 29, 2024 | 16:00 | 0.72820 |
| June 12, 2025 | 03:00 | 0.72823 |
| January 22, 2026 | 20:00 | 0.72824 |
Related article: What is perihelion of Venus and when is the next one?
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