answersLogoWhite

0

To understand this, we have to go back to the formation of the solar system. The solar system was an accumulating cloud of gas from other stars (novas and otherwise). This matter had some slight motion (angular momentum). The cloud pulled together gravitationally, and, because of the conservation of angular momentum, spun faster. This caused a disk shape because the matter above and below the disk merely fell towards the center and had no centripedal forces on it. Local pools and eddies tended to spin counter-clokwise as seen from an abitrary "top" view. When the rubble and gasses coalesced to form the planets, the same thing happened. So most of the planets tended to orbit AND rotate in the same counter-clockwise direction. Sometimes a planet hit by a large planetoid can be knocked over or even reversed in spin. This is the suspected cause for the slow "reverse" (clockwise spin) of Venus, and the unusual orientation of Uranus, which has its north pole pointed almost directly toward the Sun.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

How do planets move in relation to stars?

They mostly appear to move from east to west but there are epicycles during wich they appear to move from west to east.


Do stars move from east to west?

Yes, stars appear to move from east to west in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis. This causes the stars to appear to rise in the east and set in the west as the Earth rotates from west to east.


Which star do not appear to move from east to west?

During roughly half of the time, 'circumpolar' stars don't appear to move from east to west. Which ones those are depends on your latitude. All other stars all the time, and circumpolar stars for the other half of the time, do appear to move from east to west.


Do stars in the night sky appear to move eats to west or west to east?

They always rise in the east and set in the west, because the Earth's daily rotation goes west to east. That is, they appear to rotate anticlockwise around the Pole Star. Stars under the Pole Star move from left to right, west to east.


The sun and most other stars appear to move through the sky from?

From east to west.


Why do the stars appear to move slowly westward at night?

The earth is constantly moving eastward, so the stars appear to move westward. This is an optical illusion that is supported by Newton's 3rd Law (every action has an equal and opposite reaction).


When you face north the sun and the stars appear to move from to?

From your right (East) to your left (West) moving behind you.


If the Earth rotates from the west to the east why do the sun and stars move from the east to the west?

They are not actually, moving, they just appear to be moving because we are. Consider that if you are on a train moving forward, objects that you pass by appear to move toward the read of the train.


If the earth rotates from the west to the east why do the sun and stars move from east towards the west?

They are not actually, moving, they just appear to be moving because we are. Consider that if you are on a train moving forward, objects that you pass by appear to move toward the read of the train.


If the earth rotates from west to the east why do the sun and the stars move from the east towards the west?

They are not actually, moving, they just appear to be moving because we are. Consider that if you are on a train moving forward, objects that you pass by appear to move toward the read of the train.


If the earth rotates from the west to the east why do the sun and stars move from the east towards the west?

They are not actually, moving, they just appear to be moving because we are. Consider that if you are on a train moving forward, objects that you pass by appear to move toward the read of the train.


In which direction do the stars appear to move?

The stars appear to move from east to west across the night sky due to Earth's rotation on its axis. This motion creates the illusion that the stars are moving, when in fact it is our own planet that is rotating.