Venus: A Planet with a Longer Day than Year

In our solar system, Venus is the planet that takes longer to spin once on its axis than it does to complete an entire orbit around the sun.

Venus has an extremely slow axial rotation. It rotates on its axis in a retrograde direction, which means it spins in the opposite direction compared to most other planets in the solar system. A single rotation on Venus's axis takes about 243 Earth - days. This slow rotation is thought to be the result of various factors, perhaps including gravitational interactions with the sun and other planets during its formation and evolution.

On the other hand, Venus orbits the sun at a relatively fast pace compared to its rotation. It takes approximately 225 Earth - days for Venus to complete one full orbit around the sun. This means that a day on Venus (defined as one rotation on its axis) is actually longer than its year (defined as one orbit around the sun). This unusual characteristic makes Venus a unique celestial body in our solar system, and it has significant implications for its climate and surface conditions. For example, the long days and nights contribute to extreme temperature variations on the planet's surface.