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

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This planet is known as the hottest in our solar system and is often visible as a bright “star” in the morning or evening sky.

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The correct answer is B. Venus rotates on its axis in the opposite direction compared to most other planets. This is called retrograde rotation. On Venus, you would see the sun rise in the west and set in the east.

📚 More background information

Venus is an odd one out. Its rotation goes the “wrong” way and is also extremely slow: one day on Venus lasts longer than one year on Venus, because the planet takes more time to rotate on its axis than to travel around the sun. That is the kind of fact people refuse to believe until they look it up themselves.

On top of that, Venus is covered by a thick atmosphere that traps heat, making it the hottest planet in our solar system — even hotter than Mercury, which is considerably closer to the sun. Seen from Earth, Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon, and for centuries people have known it as the “morning star” or “evening star” without realising just how remarkable that planet actually is.

This is exactly the kind of question people get wrong because they don’t think beyond distance from the sun. Mercury is closer, so surely it must be hotter? Not if you have an atmosphere that acts like a greenhouse.