All the planets of the Solar System orbit the Sun in a counter-clockwise
direction as viewed from above the Sun's north pole. Most planets also
rotate on their axis in a counter-clockwise direction, but Venus rotates
clockwise (called "retrograde" rotation) once every 243 Earth days—the slowest rotation period of any planet. A Venusian sidereal day
thus lasts longer than a Venusian year (243 versus 224.7 Earth days).
The equator of the Venusian surface rotates at 6.5 km/h, while on Earth
rotation speed at the equator is about 1,670 km/h.
Venus's rotation has slowed down by 6.5 minutes per Venusian sidereal
day since the Magellan spacecraft visited it 16 years ago. Because of the retrograde rotation, the length of a solar day on Venus is significantly shorter than the sidereal day, at 116.75 Earth days (making the Venusian solar day shorter than Mercury's 176 Earth days); one Venusian year is about 1.92 Venusian (solar) days long. To an observer on the surface of Venus, the Sun would rise in the west and set in the east.
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