The Earth takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.06 seconds to complete one rotation on its axis, called a sidereal day. Solar days are about four minutes longer due to the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. Other planets rotate similarly to Earth, except Venus and Uranus. Some cultures use sidereal months based on the moon’s rotation.
In reality, the Earth takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.06 seconds to complete one rotation on its axis, not 24 hours. This is called a sidereal day, and is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one full rotation on its axis and end up in the same position relative to the stars. A solar day is the time it takes for the Earth to make one full rotation on its axis and end up in the same position relative to the Sun. Solar days are about four minutes longer than sidereal days because the Earth simultaneously travels about one degree around the Sun every day, so he has to rotate a little more to compensate.
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It is also possible to measure a day in terms of the rotation of the Earth relative to the moon. This is called a lunar day and lasts 24 hours and 48 minutes because the moon goes around the Earth continuously, so it takes the Earth longer to reach the same position than the moon.
The other planets in the solar system, with the exception of Venus and Uranus, rotate in the same way as Earth, meaning that the Sun still appears to rise in the east and set in the west on those planets. Venus and Uranus rotate in opposite directions, and in the case of Uranus, it appears to rotate sideways because its axis is nearly flat.
Some cultures use sidereal months, which last approximately 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes and 11.5 seconds. These are measured by the rotation of the moon in relation to the stars, leading the months to be divided into 27 or 28 “lunar mansions”, also known as decans, manzils or nakshatras.
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