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In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period [1] of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the sidereal rotation period (or sidereal day), i.e., the time that the object takes to complete a full rotation around its axis relative to the background stars (inertial space).
The Sun, planets, dwarf planets and moons are at scale for their relative sizes, not for distances. A separate distance scale is at the bottom. Moons are listed near their planets by proximity of their orbits; only the largest moons are shown. Only the largest moons are shown. Date: 29 May 2018: Source: Own work: Author: Beinahegut: Other versions
All eight planets in the Solar System orbit the Sun in the direction of the Sun's rotation, which is counterclockwise when viewed from above the Sun's north pole. Six of the planets also rotate about their axis in this same direction. The exceptions – the planets with retrograde rotation – are Venus and Uranus.
At the equator, the solar rotation period is 24.47 days. This is called the sidereal rotation period, and should not be confused with the synodic rotation period of 26.24 days, which is the time for a fixed feature on the Sun to rotate to the same apparent position as viewed from Earth (the Earth's orbital rotation is in the same direction as the Sun's rotation).
The poles of astronomical bodies are determined based on their axis of rotation in relation to the celestial poles of the celestial sphere. Astronomical bodies include stars, planets, dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies such as comets and minor planets (e.g., asteroids), as well as natural satellites and minor-planet moons.
Axial tilt of eight planets and two dwarf planets, Ceres and Pluto. All four of the innermost, rocky planets of the Solar System may have had large variations of their obliquity in the past. Since obliquity is the angle between the axis of rotation and the direction perpendicular to the orbital plane, it changes as the orbital plane changes due ...
The geology of solar terrestrial planets mainly deals with the geological aspects of the four terrestrial planets of the Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – and one terrestrial dwarf planet: Ceres. Earth is the only terrestrial planet known to have an active hydrosphere.
This template is an infobox for planets. Template parameters [Edit template data] This template prefers block formatting of parameters. Parameter Description Type Status extrasolarplanet extrasolarplanet no description Unknown optional exosolar planets exosolar planets no description Unknown optional minorplanet minorplanet When given a value (e.g., yes), it changes labels, section headings ...