How Long Are Days on Other Planets

On our planet Earth, the day lasts for around 24-hours (23 hours and 56 minutes, to be precise) and this is called a sidereal day (the time a planet needs to make a full spin). However, other planets in our solar system rotate around their axis too, but the length of the days are different.

5-Minute Crafts prepared this article so you can impress your friends with some fun facts.

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and it takes 58.6 Earth days to make of full spin around its axis. Also, since it is very close to the Sun, the year last only 88 Earth days.

Venus

If you could live on Venus then your day would last for nearly 243 days (or 5,832 hours). The interesting fact is that a year on this planet has 225 days which means that a day is actually longer than a year. Another fun thing to know is that Venus spins backward, so the sunrise is in the west and the sunset in the east.

Mars

Mars is said to be a twin to our planet and the day length is similar — 24 hours and 37 minutes. This planet is farther from the sun than the Earth, so the year lasts for 687 Earth days.

Jupiter

This giant gas planet has a different rotational rate in the equatorial region and poles. The cloud belts at the equator make a full circle in 9 hours and 56 minutes while the poles spin at a rate of 9 hours and 50 minutes. The accepted day length on Jupiter is set by the magnetic field and that is 9 hours and 55 minutes. Also, one year on Jupiter equals 4,333 days on Earth (approximately 12 Earth years).

Saturn

Saturn is another gaseous planet and based on the different parts that are measured, the scientists set the official length of a day on this planet which is 10 hours and 33 minutes. One year on Saturn lasts for 10,759 days on Earth which is around 29 years on our planet.

Uranus

Uranus makes a full rotation on its axis every 17 hours and 14 minutes. The year, however, lasts for 30,687 days and that is equal to 84 Earth years. Same as Venus, Uranus spins in the opposite direction, but unlike any other planet, it rotates on it its side.

Neptune

If people could inhabit Neptune, their day would last for approximately 16 hours, and one year on this planet 60,190 days. This means that one Neptunian year is actually 164.8 years on Earth.

Bonus: Pluto and the Moon

Pluto is considered to be a dwarf planet and one day here lasts for 6 days and 9 hours compared to the Earth. This planet needs much more time to make a circle around the Sun than the others. One year here is around 248 years on Earth.

The Moon is the Earth’s only satellite and rotates very slowly around its axis. This is why one day on the Moon is equivalent to 27.3 days on Earth.

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