How long is a day and a year on other planets?

The fact that a day is 24 hours is so integral to life on Earth that we sometimes forget that it is based on a system created by humans. What kind of life would we live if the day lasted only 10 hours instead of 24? But how would our routine change if we had to put in thousands of hours to get to the next day? The same is true for a year. Have you ever wondered what the seasons and calendars would look like if people in the past decided that it would take 88 days for the Earth to go around the sun? What about the other planets in the solar system? Let’s examine the details together 👇

What does the day and year depend on?

In simpler terms, day is an expression that describes how long it takes for a planet to complete a complete revolution on its axis, while year is an expression that describes how long it takes for a planet to revolve around the sun. Considering a day to be 24 hours and a year to be 365 days has a history dating back to 4236 BC. It is known that the first calendar based on the movements of the sun was invented by the ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago.

Why is the day and year on other planets different from ours?

Based on the information we shared above, the speed of rotation of each planet around itself and around the sun differs from that of Earth. In fact, some planets take more than a year to complete in one day. That is, the rotation around its axis is slower than the rotation around the sun. For example, Venus, in this case, completes one axis rotation in 243 Earth days. But it takes only 225 Earth days to make a complete revolution around the Sun. Meanwhile, a day on Neptune is 8 hours shorter than an Earth day, but it rotates only once every 165 Earth years.

How long is the planetary day and year for us?

Now, in view of the information we have provided above, let us examine the lengths of one day and one year on other planets together.

1. Mercury

Day length: 58.67 Earth days (1408 hours)
Year length: 88 Earth days (0.2 Earth years)

2. Venus

Day length: 243 Earth days (5832 hours)
Year length: about 225 Earth days (0.6 Earth years)

3. Mars

Day length: 1.04 Earth days (about 25 hours)
Year length: 687 Earth days (1.9 Earth years)

4. Jupiter

Day length: 0.42 Earth days (10 hours)
Year length: 4333 Earth days (11.9 Earth years)

5. Saturn

Day length: 0.46 Earth days (about 11 hours)
Year length: 10,756 Earth days (29.4 Earth years)

6. Uranus

Day length: 0.71 Earth days (approximately 17 hours)
Year length: 30,687 Earth days (about 84 Earth years)

7. Neptune

Day length: 0.67 Earth days (16 hours)
Year length: 60,190 Earth days (165 Earth years)