Venus is a star.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun , orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days . Because Venus orbits within Earth 's orbit it is an inferior planet and never appears to venture far from the Sun ; its maximum angular distance from the Sun ( elongation ) is 47.8 ° . Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called Earth 's `` sister planet '' because of their similar size , mass , proximity to the Sun , and bulk composition . Venus was the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky , as early as the second millennium BC . It was the first planet beyond Earth visited by a spacecraft ( Mariner 2 in 1962 ) , and the first to be successfully landed on ( by Venera 7 in 1970 ) .