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A day on Venus (one full rotation on its axis) takes about 243 Earth days, which is longer than Venus's own year of about 225 Earth days, meaning a Venusian day is longer than a Venusian year.

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What we found

Venus rotates so slowly that a single day on Venus — about 243 Earth days — is longer than the Venusian year of roughly 225 Earth days, meaning the planet completes a full orbit around the Sun before it finishes one rotation. This was precisely confirmed using radar measurements bounced off Venus's surface, beginning in the 1960s with radio telescopes. Follow for a new fact every day.

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Transcript

Venus has a day longer than its own year — and that is not a metaphor, it is basic planetary science. Venus takes about 225 Earth days to complete one orbit around the Sun. But it rotates so slowly on its axis that a single Venusian day lasts roughly 243 Earth days. That means on Venus, the year ends before the day does. To put that in human terms: if you were born at sunrise on Venus, the planet would have already lapped the Sun before you ever saw your first sunset. Scientists confirmed this using radar measurements bounced off Venus's surface, first precisely nailed down in the 1960s by radio telescopes. It completely overturns our gut instinct that days are always shorter than years. Follow for a fact every day.

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