Do all the planets rotate from west to east (as it were) ?

Question

Is there any reason a planet would rotate in one direction or the other ?

Answer 1

No, they don't. Venus revolves in retrograde, so the Sun rises in the West on Venus. Also, Uranus has an axis that is inclined just over 90 degrees to the ecliptic, so it basically tumbles sideways over itself. What little characteristic day and night behavior is observed doest include the Sun rising in the West, but much of the planet experiences "days" and "nights" that are governed only by the axial tilt, like at the extremities of Earth's poles where day and night each last for six months.

The planets mostly rotate in the same direction because they retain the initial motion of the solar nebula from which developed the Sun and everything orbiting it. However, collisions in the early Solar System caused drastic changes in the motion of a few of these bodies.

Answer 2

No as mentioned before not all planets rotate the same way, but what hasent been mentioned is that planets beyond our solour systen dont have the same caeataristics there is one planet in the constellation virgo that spins both east to west and west to east, the reason behind this is because of its sun's gravity and composition that iffects its orbit aswell as its rotation I hope that this helps

best wishes matt1

Answer 3

As the Nebula that created the solar system collapsed, the dust and gas began to spin like water going down a drain setting up the direction of orbit. Imagine trying to move a ball of thread on the sticky side of a piece of tape. It's easier if you roll it. Gravity is the sticky side of the tape and the planets would roll in the direction of their orbit.

Answer 4

if the big bang theory is to be believed, planets would rotate according to the initial force on them. it is unlikely that more than 1 or 2 will rotate in the same direction

Answer 5

Venus rotates the other way around - probably because at one point in the distant past it collided with something very massive going the other way.

I'm not sure about Uranus. Its axis points towards the sun, so how would you define clock / anticlock-wise?

Answer 6

Venus goes East to West, and Uranus goes North to South.

Answer 7

ya it would rotate in the direction in which a asteroid hit it in same way as a orange on a string rotates if u hit it form right to left it will spin clockwise but if u hit form left to right it will spin anti-clockwise

Answer 8

Hi. All planets rotate counter-clockwise as seen from above around the Sun. But it looks like you have what I was going to type already. Good question.

Answer 9

Paul E is right but he made a lapsus, the DAY is longer than the YEAR.

Answer 10

Venus is the odd one out. It's year is longer than it's day too. Girls are from venus.