Why We Didn't Know How Long a Venus Day Was

Researchers have finally determined how long a day on Venus is, give or take an episode of Brooklyn 99.

Hosted by: Hank Green

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[Ntmoffi]

A day on Venus lasts as long as a Monday on Earth. That's crazy.

[ThePrufessa]

When I first learned about the difficulty physicists were having trying to figure out how long a Venus day is I thought to myself what if something was causing its days to fluctuate. Years later and I find out I was asking the right question all along.

[AnnoyingNewslettersPage]

Goldstone!

I was stationed at Fort Irwin, Barstow, California, and the goldstone facility is located within our training area. If we went into the northwest corner of our training area we would have to go past goldstone and the dishes.

[bigJovialJon]

That's what happens if you over-do Daylight Saving Time

[karthikharitha]

On Venus, you don't have annual review, you have daily reviews!

[Tinkerelly]

Hank watches brooklyn 99? We are VIBING right now!!!!

[laravincent-young]

I feel whole knowing that Hank watches Brooklyn 99. It makes me feel smarter and not as bad for wasting all my time on Netflix and YT instead of finishing my degree. Thanks, Hank for justifying my procrastination :D

[davetoms]

Would love to learn more about how measuring the atmosphere's speed allowed them to measure the ground's rotation.

[thomashughes_teh]

While listening to a story of a planet eating gas and dust I ate a dry grilled cheese and drank soda water. Now I'm feeling a bit gassy and my lap it a bit dusty. Ah, the joy of recycling star dust.

[Bill-ltqf]

I don't think i would even notice an hour change in day length tbh.

[anthonyfrench]

"That's like a whole episode of Brooklyn 99" great analogy Hank!!!

[stevejohnson]

But how long is a Venus year? Is it shorter than a Venus day? That would make a very different calendar.

[VitriolicThunder]

This matches up with Venus/Aphrodite's personality pretty well.

[PeterCCamilleri]

This makes me think: Do the tides affect the rotational speed of the Earth, on any level?

[cypherbrittainnethegodofsl]

Fun fact : Venus is already the hottest planet in the solar system, while it's albedo is at around 0.8 (which means it reflects around 80% of the light it received and absorbs the other 20%). If Venus absorbs all the light it received (albedo at 0), it would be around 1000 K.

[michaelterrell]

You’d be waiting 8 months to see the Sun on Venus.

[mrdraw]

The more interesting question is: is Venus's rotation speeding up or slowing down? Is its rotation speed oscillating, or is it evolving into some direction? Does this, for example, imply that the density of its atmosphere has changed over time? If so, we might even be able to pinpoint the start of the runaway greenhouse effect.

[BD-lqid]

It's amazing how many things science doesn't know or has barely learned and yet scientists act like they know everything

[tenthz]

I started binge watching Brooklyn Nine Nine today, so that was a weird pull.

[Frightnoodle]

5 day work weeks would be brutal on Venus