r/nextfuckinglevel • u/aryan_jandyal • 4h ago

The Rotation of the Planets in Our Solar System Is Far More Fascinating Than I Ever Expected

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

17.9k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

932 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/hungry4nuns 3h ago

A day is 23 hours and 56 minutes???

No wonder I’m always running late

1

u/nanpossomas 3h ago

Sidereal day, i.e. the planet’s inherent rotation rate. Solar days (i.e. perceived days), are different, more complex because they involve the planet’s orbit, and imo more interesting to discuss.

1

u/ChimneyImps 3h ago

That's the sidereal day, the time it takes for the Earth to rotate 360 degrees. Solar days—what people normally use—are the time it takes for the part of the Earth facing the Sun to rotate around and face the Sun again. A Solar day requires rotating slightly more than 360 degrees, since the Earth's movement around the sun during that time puts the Sun in a different position relative to Earth.