Why Do Some Planets Rotate In Different

Directions?
At this point in life, we should all know the basics of our solar system, namely that there are nine eight planets
that rotate about themselves on an axis at a particular angle, in addition to revolving around the sun in an orbit.

However, did you know that within our solar system, there are a few planets that do not spin in the same
direction as Earth and most other planets?

Which planets rotate in a different direction?

The two anomalies in question are Venus and Uranus. These planets rotate in the clockwise or retrograde
direction while all the other planets rotate in the counter-clockwise motion.

A single day on Venus is much longer than one on the Earth. It takes 243 Earth days to complete its rotation,
but it only takes 224.7 days to complete each orbit. Yes, that means that a day on Venus is longer than a year!

Which way does the Earth rotate?

The Earth rotates in the counter-clockwise direction like the majority of the planets in our Solar System. Its tilt
is 23 degrees in the prograde direction.

Let’s understand what prograde and retrograde mean.

What is the Prograde and Retrograde rotation?

Prograde rotation indicates that the motion is in the same direction as the Sun’s rotation. Retrograde rotation is
in the opposite direction. Most planets in our solar system, including Earth, rotate counter-clockwise or
prograde direction, but Venus and Uranus are said to have a retrograde or clockwise rotation around their axes.
The tilt angle of a planet is measured relative to the orbital plane of the planet, and most planets’ axes form an
almost perpendicular angle to the orbital plane.

However, along with being retrograde, Uranus also has a tilt of 97.7 degrees, which makes its axis almost
horizontal to the orbital plane. Although scientists and astronomers do not have a specific or proven reason for
these anomalies, they have proposed some hypothetical explanations.

What could be the explanation?

One of the most popular explanations for these anomalies is that at some point in history, Venus and Uranus
both spun counter-clockwise, just like the other planets. However, in the events that followed the development
of planets, Venus was somehow flipped 180 degrees on its axis. So ideally, Venus is still spinning in the
prograde direction, but since it was somehow knocked upside down, it appears to be spinning in a clockwise
direction.

The next question that naturally arises from this theory is: what made the planet flip? God’s hand! His divine
plan? No, not really!

The evidence of huge craters on the surfaces of these planets has hinted at the possibility that a huge mass
collided with the planets in their formative days. For example, if you even slightly nudge a spinning top it will
definitely wobble. The top won’t stop spinning entirely but it will tilt. Similar logic may apply in case of Venus
and Uranus’ spin angle. Scientists hypothesized this by guessing from Earth’s early collision that led to the
formation of the moon; in this case, however, the collision flipped the planets over! Another explanation refers
to the Sun’s gravitational pull, which caused strong atmospheric tides, eventually resulting in the flipped-over
axes of these planets.

A third explanation for Venus’ inverted axis is related to the interaction between the friction forces of its core
and mantle, or those same forces between its atmosphere and mantle. A planet has to conserve its total angular
momentum, which is directly related to its net spin axis. However, the net spin axis of a planet is a combination
of the spin axis of its core, the spin axis of its mantle and the spin axis of its atmosphere.

Because Venus’ core is liquid and due to the planet’s thick atmosphere, it is possible that frictional forces
changed the angular momentum between the core and the mantle, or the atmosphere and mantle, thus causing
the flip. It seems like a solution that warring members of a family employed for peaceful co-existence.

As for Uranus, it is believed that the planet was hit by multiple bodies, roughly the size of earth, that led to its
unique flip and clockwise rotation.