• A. Mars
  • B. Venus
  • C. Jupiter
  • D. Saturn

💡 Need a hint?

This planet is named after a Roman goddess and is known as the hottest planet in our solar system.

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The correct answer is B. Venus rotates “retrograde”, meaning it spins in the opposite direction around its axis compared to most other planets. On Venus, the sun would therefore rise in the west and set in the east.

📚 More background information

What surprises many people: Venus not only rotates backwards, but also incredibly slowly. One day on Venus lasts longer than a full year on that planet. Its thick atmosphere traps so much heat that the surface is hotter than that of Mercury, the planet that sits much closer to the sun. And there is this: Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after the sun and the moon, hence its nicknames “morning star” and “evening star”. A planet that is simultaneously the hottest, the slowest-rotating, and the one that spins in reverse. That is quite something for a single neighbouring planet.