One spin of Venus takes longer than its year
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A spin sounds quick, but one spin of Venus takes about 243 Earth days. One trip around the Sun takes only about 225, so a Venus year is over before Venus finishes a single spin. Venus also spins backwards, so the Sun rises in the west. Sunrise to sunrise is a different story: about 117 Earth days, which is shorter than a Venus year.
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Transcript
- Tiggy On Venus, one spin takes longer than a whole year.
- Sef No way! A spin takes one second. Watch!
- Tiggy Not Venus. One spin takes about 243 Earth days.
- Tiggy But one trip around the Sun takes only 225.
- Sef So my Venus birthday comes before Venus spins once?
- Tiggy Yep. And Venus spins backwards, so the Sun rises in the west.
Sources
- NASA Science: Venus Facts science.nasa.gov
- NASA NSSDC: Venus Fact Sheet nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
- Natural History Museum, London: Planet Venus nhm.ac.uk
- ESA: Could Venus be shifting gear? esa.int
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