Space / DAY 13 OF 40
Venus does sunrise backwards.
West is where the day begins on our neighbouring planet.
Here's the strange part.
Venus refuses to follow the usual directions. It rotates the opposite way to Earth, so the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. One spin takes about 243 Earth days, longer than its 225-day year. But sunrise to sunrise takes about 117 Earth days, because rotation and orbital motion work together. One planet. Several perfectly reasonable ways to get confused about a day. (NASA Space Place)
A rotation and a solar day are different things. Venus takes about 243 Earth days to rotate, but about 117 days between sunrises.
REALITY CHECK · TRUE OR FALSE?
Venus would like a word with your calendar.
A full rotation and a sunrise-to-sunrise day are the same length on Venus.
Go straight to the receipts.
Curious about the methods, dates or details? Open the original source and keep the caveat in view.
ORIGINAL SOURCENASA Space PlaceOpen publication ↗NEXT IN THE 40-DAY TRAIL / DAY 14More colour receptors. Not a better colour chart. ↗