Surface of Venus, artwork. This is the hottest planetary surface in the solar system, with temperatures of nearly 500 degrees Celsius since its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere traps the Sun's heat. The surface atmospheric pressure is around 90 times that on Earth. Also present are volcanic features and clouds of sulphuric acid obscuring the Sun. Venus is 108 million kilometres from the Sun, around around two-thirds of the Earth-Sun distance, and is slightly smaller than Earth.