Why is Venus hotter than Mercury, when Mercury is closer to the sun?
Despite being farther from the sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, and the reason has little to do with proximity to a star.
Venus is hotter than Mercury despite Mercury being closer to the Sun, according to experts. The key differences lie in atmospheric composition, reflectivity, and geological history. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere, causing it to lose heat rapidly after the sun sets. In contrast, Venus is surrounded by thick clouds made primarily of carbon dioxide, creating an atmosphere 90 times denser than Earth's.
These clouds reflect three-quarters of the sunlight that reaches Venus, trapping the remaining heat within its atmosphere. The carbon dioxide in Venus' atmosphere is excellent at absorbing and re-emitting infrared radiation, causing the surface temperature to remain nearly constant. If Venus lacked its atmospheric blanket, it would be considerably cooler than Mercury.
The planet's extreme heat is not due to absorbing more sunlight than Mercury, but rather the effectiveness of its atmosphere in retaining heat.
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