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Although wecan’t feel Earth spinning , the day-by-day sunrise and sunset are reminders that our planet is in constant motion . But do we know which means Earth is gyrate ? And is it the same direction as the Dominicus and the other planet circling it ?
The answer is linked to the formation of thesolar systemsome 4.6 billion years ago .
The sun spins counterclockwise, but what about Earth?
It started with an tremendous swarm of gas and dust that was so dense , it began collapsing down on itself , Joshua Pepper , a program scientist inNASA ’s Astrophysics division , told Live Science . The thick nub became the sun , and major planet formed in the surrounding swirl of gas .
The initial tailspin of this swirling cloud is still save today . When a rotating object head-shrinker , it speeds up . This is like when a figure skater tear in their arms while twirl and they spin quicker and faster , Pepper say . The Dominicus is like the figure skater ’s center of somberness , and the planet and moons are like the skater ’s arms and legs . This is calledangular momentum , and it ’s why the satellite and sun are still spinning today .
Related : Why do the satellite in the solar system orbit on the same planing machine ?
The sun spins counterclockwise, but what about Earth?
Therefore , astronomers might have a bun in the oven that all of the planets in thesolar systemwould spin in the same direction as the sun .
" To count at the direction of the gyration , we always compare it to a mention counsel , " saidGongjie Li , an associate professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech . In the face of the solar system , that reference point is the sun , which spins anticlockwise , according toSpace.com , a sister site of Live Science .
ground and most of the other planet — include Mercury , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn and Neptune — also spin counterclockwise , but there are some exceptions .
Venus spin clockwise , meaning the sun rises from the west rather of the east , Li told Live Science . Previously , astronomers thoughta heavy object might have rammed into Venusto prompt its backward spin . Now they have sex that Venus ' thick standard pressure is probable to blame .
According toNASA , the planet ’s carbon dioxide atmosphere is 90 times as dense as Earth ’s . The pressure under this big standard atmosphere create rubbing with Venus ' rocky surface and has in all probability slowed the planet ’s gyration over billions of years , Pepper said .
A 2020 study print in the journalSciencealso discover that the sun ’s heat creates atmospheric tides that move in the same direction as Venus ' spin . These tide may keep Venus moving slightly in a clockwise direction . A singular rotation of Venus takes243 dayson Earth , harmonize to NASA .
Farther out in the solar organisation is another oddball major planet , Uranus , which spins on its side . Astronomers do think a vast object whack into Uranus early in its story .
" The early solar system was just wedge - full of thing smashing into each other , " Pepper suppose .
— Does the universe circumvolve ?
— Does every star have planets ?
— Which planet is close to Earth ? ( jot : There ’s more than 1 proper answer . )
Another hypothesis is that Uranus ' celestial orbit used to have a massive synodic month whose gravitational influence tilted the planet , according to a 2022 work issue in the journalAstronomy & Astrophysics . In this hypothesis , the Sun Myung Moon eventually collided with the major planet and kicked Uranus in this crabwise state .
Uranus istilted over 90 academic degree , which leave in dramatic seasonal change in which winters last 21 years , according to NASA . equate that with Earth ’s joust of about 23 degree , which creates smaller - shell transition for a beautiful change in seasons , Li read .
