{"id":33458,"date":"2022-06-27T11:08:50","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T11:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=109745"},"modified":"2022-06-27T11:19:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T11:19:13","slug":"why-venus-spins-backwards","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/why-venus-spins-backwards\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Venus spins backwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Garry Hunt\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 27 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

At school we all learn that Earth is just one of the many worlds in our Solar System: an individual body among the numerous planets and moons orbiting our host star the Sun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Astronomers think the planets of the Solar System<\/a> developed from a collapsing cloud of gas called the Solar Nebula.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually the collapsing nebula<\/a> flattened into a spinning protoplanetary disc of cosmic material out of which the planets formed.<\/span><\/p>\n

So if all the planets came out of the same spinning matter, why does Venus spin in the opposite direction to the rest?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A view of Venus captured by JAXA\u2019s Akatsuki orbiter. \u00a9 PLANET-C Project Team<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Imagine swinging a bag of balls of different sizes vigorously in a circular motion and then releasing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

You would find the angular momentum caused them all to rotate in the same direction so, in theory, all the planets should too.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Solar System is a cluttered place with lots of high-speed objects, such as comets<\/a> and asteroids<\/a>, that can potentially collide with planets.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know that large asteroids have hit Earth during its history (one of the theories as to how the Moon formed<\/a>), so it seems plausible that, during the early stages of the Solar System, Venus could have been hit by a celestial object similar in size to itself that sent it spinning in the opposite direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
We know Earth suffered a collision early in its life. Could the same thing have happened to Venus? Credit: Mark Garlick \/ Science Photo Library \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

If this collision also altered Venus\u2019s orbit, the presence of the Sun, Mercury and Earth would have pulled its orbit back to its original position.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only lasting effect would be on the direction it spins about its axis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Astronomers also think a collision on Uranus is responsible for the planet spinning on its side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Venus is certainly considered very odd for spinning in the opposite direction to most other planets, but the strangeness of Venus doesn\u2019t end there.<\/span><\/p>\n

The planet rotates incredibly slowly, with the Venusian day equivalent to 243 Earth days, which is longer than the Venusian year of 225 Earth days.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the January 2007 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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