Which two planets rotate on their axes from east to west, opposite to the direction of most other planets?

Most planets in the solar system rotate from west to east (anticlockwise when seen from above the Sun's north pole). Venus and Uranus are the exceptions, as they rotate in the opposite direction, from east to west. This is called retrograde rotation.

Venus:

Venus rotates very slowly in the retrograde direction.

One rotation takes about 243 Earth days, while one revolution around the Sun takes about 225 Earth days. So, a day on Venus is longer than its year.

Because of its backward rotation, on Venus the Sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east.

Possible reasons include a giant collision early in its history, or the effect of the Sun's tidal forces on its thick atmosphere.

Uranus:

• Uranus has an extreme axial tilt of about 98 degrees, so it effectively rotates on its side.
• Because the tilt is more than 90 degrees, its rotation is counted as retrograde.
• Each pole gets about 42 years of continuous sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness.
• Scientists think a massive collision with an Earth-sized object knocked Uranus over long ago.

About Uranus:

• It was the first planet discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781.
• It is an ice giant, with a blue-green colour caused by methane in its atmosphere.
• Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited it, in 1986.

Direction of revolution:

• All eight planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction, west to east.
• The difference is only in the direction of rotation on their axes.

Rotation of the Earth:

The Earth rotates from west to east, which is why the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Earth and Neptune all rotate from west to east.