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A Day on Venus Is Longer Than a Year on Venus

Curated by Surfaced EditorialΒ·Regularly updated

A split clock showing Venus rotating slowly on one side and orbiting the Sun on the other, with the orbit completing first

Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once on its axis but only 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun. This means a single Venusian day is longer than its entire year.

Why It’s Interesting

It completely breaks our intuitive understanding of what a 'day' and a 'year' mean. Venus also rotates backward compared to most planets, meaning the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. It is the solar system's most contrarian planet.

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