Definition
All planets rotate around their rotation axes. The rotation period is measured with reference to the distant stars. It is thus also called the sidereal period of rotation, which is different from the duration of the solar day (the time that the Sun takes to go once around the sky as seen from the planet), which is called the synodic period of rotation.
Overview
Because of the angular momentum accreted during their formation, all planets tend to rotate around their axes. The rotation rate is measured by the sidereal period of rotation, which is different from the apparent period of rotation of the Sun in the sky because, while the planet rotates, it is also moving around the Sun on its orbit (Table 1).
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References and Further Reading
Correia A, Laskar J (2001) The four final rotation states of Venus. Nature 411:767–770
Correia A, Levrard B, Laskar J (2008) On the equilibrium rotation of Earth-like extra-solar planets. Astron Astrophys 488(3):L63–L66
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Forget, F. (2015). Rotation Planet. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1389
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1389
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