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

💡 Need a hint?

This planet is known for its thick cloud cover and is sometimes called the ‘morning or evening star’. The sun rises there in the west.

✅ View the answer

The correct answer is B. Venus.

Venus rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets, a phenomenon called retrograde rotation. The result: on Venus you would see the sun rise in the west and set in the east.

📚 More background information

Venus is almost a twin of Earth in terms of size, but beyond that the two have little in common. A thick atmosphere traps heat so effectively that conditions are inhospitably hot. And there is something else remarkable: Venus rotates so slowly on its axis that one full rotation takes longer than a complete orbit around the sun.

This kind of question always goes down well at a pub quiz, because it sounds more surprising than it really is. Many players guess Mercury, probably because it is closest to the sun. But distance from the sun has nothing to do with the direction of rotation, so that reasoning doesn’t hold up.