Asked by Idk

What's thought to be responsible for causing Venus's retrograde rotation?
A)

Gravitational pull from Earth and Mercury
B)

Tidal forces from the sun on Venus's atmosphere
C)

The composition of Venus's atmosphere
D)

Venus's high surface temperature

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
B) Tidal forces from the sun on Venus's atmosphere.

Venus's very dense atmosphere develops strong thermal (solar) tides as it is heated; those atmospheric tides can exert torques on the solid planet and are thought to have slowed and reversed its spin. (A giant impact early in Venus's history is another possible contributor.)