<blockquote>
<p>on Venus the Sun rises from the west, because Venus spins in an opposite direction</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If your planet spins (forward) at exactly the same rate as planetary orbit, then it's tidally locked and there is no sunrise.</p>
<p>If your planet spins (forward) faster than that, you get sunrises in the east.</p>
<p>If your planet spins (forward) slower than that, you get sunrises in the west.   It's also the case that not rotating at all or rotating backward also count as &quot;not spinning forward as fast as the orbital rate&quot;.</p>
<p>So any planet with a standard orbit but an opposite-earth rotation will have western sunrises regardless of the specific rotation rate.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-23T16:12:16.697Z
Of course, that would if you could see the Sun. You might just have to settle for a brightening of the clouds.
Oscar Lanzi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-22T16:47:59.483Z
2024-08-24T17:07:08.440Z
2024-08-24T17:07:08.440Z
BowlOfRed
<p>All books and internet articles say that: on Venus the Sun rises from the west, because Venus spins in an opposite direction (inclination ~ 180°).</p>
<p>But I am thinking that: As the spin period of Venus (243 days) is greater than its orbital period (225 days), maybe on Venus the Sun rises from the East just as on Earth.</p>
<p>That is, it flips because Venus spins in an opposite direction, and then flips again because spin period &gt; orbital period.</p>
<hr />
<p>Here &quot;North pole&quot; is defined to be the pole that lies to north side of the solar system's &quot;invariable plane&quot; (that is the plane in which the planets orbit), or the Venus North pole is the pole that closer to North Ecliptic Pole, and East is the same as on Earth, so Venus spins from East to West, opposite to the Earth.</p>

<planet><solar-system><venus>
Sun rise on Venus from East or West (North as North Ecliptic Pole)
Firestar-Reimu
# Sun rise on Venus from East or West (North as North Ecliptic Pole)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-22)

All books and internet articles say that: on Venus the Sun rises from the west, because Venus spins in an opposite direction (inclination ~ 180°).

But I am thinking that: As the spin period of Venus (243 days) is greater than its orbital period (225 days), maybe on Venus the Sun rises from the East just as on Earth.

That is, it flips because Venus spins in an opposite direction, and then flips again because spin period > orbital period.

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Here "North pole" is defined to be the pole that lies to north side of the solar system's "invariable plane" (that is the plane in which the planets orbit), or the Venus North pole is the pole that closer to North Ecliptic Pole, and East is the same as on Earth, so Venus spins from East to West, opposite to the Earth.

**Tags:** planet, solar-system, venus


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-08-22. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

> on Venus the Sun rises from the west, because Venus spins in an opposite direction

If your planet spins (forward) at exactly the same rate as planetary orbit, then it's tidally locked and there is no sunrise.

If your planet spins (forward) faster than that, you get sunrises in the east.

If your planet spins (forward) slower than that, you get sunrises in the west. It's also the case that not rotating at all or rotating backward also count as "not spinning forward as fast as the orbital rate".

So any planet with a standard orbit but an opposite-earth rotation will have western sunrises regardless of the specific rotation rate.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Of course, that would if you could see the Sun. You might just have to settle for a brightening of the clouds.  

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