Comment on “The Solar Wind Interaction With an Orbiting Venus” by Brecht and Ledvina (2025)

Abstract In a recent peer reviewed paper, Brecht and Ledvina (2025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ja034130 ) claim that the orbital motion of Venus has dramatic effects on the planet's interaction with the solar wind. The authors argue that Galilean invariance does not apply to this system, so the orbital motion cannot be taken into account by changing the solar wind velocity. They further assert that since the momentum and kinetic energy are not invariant under Galilean transformation, Galilean transformation cannot be used at all. These statements are not true because they contradict classical mechanics and special relativity. Since the orbital speed of Venus is very small compared to the solar wind speed, the simulation results showing dramatic changes with and without the orbital motion taken into account are obviously contradicting Galilean invariance and therefore incorrect.