Why would they say Venus is upside-down?

Question

How can scientists/astronomers say that planet, Venus is upside down.

How would they know? What if Venus' axial tilt is ACTUALLY 3 degrees?

Is it because Venus rotates the opposite? I don't think it's that, I think it's just a direction Venus goes.

Answer 1

It is not upside down at least I have never heard it called that by any scientists/astronomers.

The only thing I can say about that is the fact (as you point out) that Venus spins (very slowly) from east to west unlike the others in our solar system which revolve west to east.

If you were on Venus you would see the sun rise in the west and set in the east 59 (Earth) days later. Also the inclination of its equator  is 177.4 degrees to its orbit, so I suppose somebody from the media might call that "upside-down" in a peculiar way, just to get people thinking about what that means.

Answer 2

It's because Venus rotates in an opposite direction compared to other planets in the Solar System!

Answer 3

Well, all the planets, Uranus included, rotate from West to East, or roughly in the same direction as their orbits - except for Venus.  Venus, rotates the opposite direction from all the other planets, which made one guy say, "It's upside down!"  It was sort of a joke.  

Answer 4

There is a point in saying that Venus is upside-down. Directions in space are arbitrary. What we started with on Earth we extend it elsewhere in space.

However, rotation follows right hand rule. Rotate the globe from west to east as is done by Earth. Hold right fist with thumb up; it resembles the global rotation. So the thumb direction is positive. In the case of Venus the rotational direction can be right hand if thumb is pointed down, upside-down! The tilt is -2.6 degrees.

Venus is a disappointment. For such a beautiful name, the condition on that planet proved to be the opposite, horrific.