A Day on Venus Is Longer Than Its Year
Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once but only 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun, so a day on Venus is longer than its year.
Yes. Venus spins so slowly that one rotation takes 243 Earth days, while one trip around the Sun takes only 225 Earth days.
Explanation
A planet’s day is the time it takes to spin once on its axis, and its year is the time it takes to travel once around the Sun. On Earth the day is far shorter than the year, so hundreds of days fit into each orbit. Venus is the opposite. According to NASA, Venus needs 243 Earth days to complete a single rotation, yet it finishes an orbit of the Sun in only 225 Earth days. That means the planet completes a full lap of the Sun before it has finished turning once. In NASA’s words, a day there would be longer even than a Venus year.
Source and verification
- Source
- NASA Tier A
- Last verified
- Confidence
- 95 out of 100
- Verified by
- Ali Ahmad Chaudhry