Lois Breur Krause asks: Why does Venus rotate backwards?
I doubt there's a definitive answer to the question, but it seems plausible
that Venus suffered a major collision while it was forming which left it in
its current rotation state. BTW - Uranus is also in an odd (compared to the
rest of the planets) rotation state, with its equator inclined about 90
degrees to the plane of its orbit, for probably the same reason.
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"Vocatus atque non vocatus - Deus aderit."
- Karl Jung
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George Spagna
Department of Physics
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505
phone: (804) 752-7344 FAX (804) 752-4724
e-mail: gspagna@rmc.edu http://www.rmc.edu/~gspagna/