How long is a year on Venus?
A year on Venus lasts about 225 Earth days. Strangely, one rotation of Venus takes about 243 Earth days, so its day is longer than its year.
Venus orbits the Sun closer than Earth does, so it completes a full orbit faster. But it spins extremely slowly and in the opposite direction to most planets. On Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Because of the combined spin and orbit, the time from one sunrise to the next on Venus is about 117 Earth days. A person on the surface would see only about two sunrises in a Venus year, if they could see through its thick clouds.
Why Venus spins backward
Scientists are not sure why Venus rotates backward. Possible explanations include a giant collision early in its history or the slow effects of the Sun's gravity and the planet's thick atmosphere over billions of years.
Did You Know?
Venus is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are similar in size and mass, but its surface is about 465°C and its air pressure is about 90 times Earth's.