Most planets rotate in the direction of their orbit, which is to say, if viewed from the NORTH pole, if they orbit counterclockwise, they rotate counterclockwise as if they were rolling around the sun on its surface. If they are rotating the opposite direction, it is called
RETROGRADE rotation. It is rare, but it does happen. Many scientist seem to believe this can only happen by some physical event such as a collision, or by the object in question being captured by the gravity of the primary as it wandered by.
(Uranus orbits lying on its side, with one pole toward the sun).
Spinning in a counterclockwise direction is called anti-clockwise rotation or counterclockwise rotation.
The spinning rotation of a planet from east to west is called retrograde rotation. This is the opposite direction to the majority of planets in our solar system, which rotate from west to east in a prograde rotation.
The Moon, Sun and planets all appear in a strip of sky called the ecliptic. It is a plane defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun is always on the ecliptic, while the Moon and planets stay close to it.
The strip of the sky through which the sun, moon, and brightest planets appear to move in the course of a year is known as the ecliptic.
Because the ancient Greek astronomers were one of the first astronomers to discover the planets. As they looked at the planets over time they moved into different places. The planets seemed o orbit the Sun so the Greek astronomers called them planets, which meant :wanderers.
Spinning in a counterclockwise direction is called anti-clockwise rotation or counterclockwise rotation.
There is no friction in space to stop them so they keep on spinning under what is called conservation of angular momentum.
This is called the Retrograde
The spinning rotation of a planet from east to west is called retrograde rotation. This is the opposite direction to the majority of planets in our solar system, which rotate from west to east in a prograde rotation.
The Moon, Sun and planets all appear in a strip of sky called the ecliptic. It is a plane defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun is always on the ecliptic, while the Moon and planets stay close to it.
The strip of the sky through which the sun, moon, and brightest planets appear to move in the course of a year is known as the ecliptic.
A spinning motion like a top is called precession. This is when a spinning object's axis slowly rotates around a second axis due to external forces, such as gravity or friction. It causes the object to appear as though it is wobbling or moving in a circular pattern while spinning.
The celestial objects that appear to move backwards among the stars are planets in our solar system. This phenomenon is called retrograde motion and is an apparent backward motion that occurs when Earth passes by these planets in their orbits.
The Greek word planetoi means wanderer. This is why the planets in our solar system are called planets - they appear to wander about the sky relative to the fixed stars.
A Jewish spinning top is called a "dredel".
The spinning motion of an object is called rotation.
As seen from a location high above the north pole, nearly everything in our solar system rotates counter-clockwise. All the planets orbit counter-clockwise (sometimes in ancient texts called "widdershins") and 6 of the 8 planets spin that way. The Moon orbits CCW, and rotates that way as well.