[zeroca]

Does the direction of spinning of Earth coincide with direction of its motion along the orbit? Or are they opposite?

I attach the rough diagram to be clear what I’m interested in. Chosen directions are conventional (clockwise and counterclockwise). The plane of screen is counted ecliptics.
Please, explain your answer and point out the source.

[Guille]

I believe the directions don't coincide, I think I remember having read it in a physics book, but I can't tell for sure.

[zeroca]

Anyway, that’s fine. Thank you. I believe I will find precise existing answer to it in order to reconstruct spinning regularities of solid bodies, as towards around each-other, as well as around Suns. Existing explanations really don’t satisfy my curiosity. I‘ve read that the Moon’s spinning on its axis coincides with its moving direction along the orbit around the Earth and that makes perfect sense for me (it fits), but I stumble over the spinning of planets around the Sun: can’t arrange the picture of it. Precise knowledge of it is strong necessity for me. Anyway, I can say beforehand that Suns are relatively fixed (unmoved) points to each-other in universe, but solid heavenly bodies aren’t.

Regards, Merab.

[harmonygirl]

Do we know why they spin? is it related to balance at all? If so, direction would make a difference, no?

[baudrunner]

If you picture the earth as a ball rolling in its path around the sun then it makes perfect sense that the rotations coincide because the ball is rolling forward and moving forward as it is doing so. Both the orbital direction and the spin are always in sync in a forward rolling object. All the earth is doing is rolling around in elipses.

There are exceptions to the rule, in fact there is/are more than one orbiting bodies in this solar system whose spin is counter to the direction of the orbital path. One is a moon around Saturn, I forget the name, too lazy to look it up. The experts conclude that they were thrown from another body and haven't had time to recalibrate. They should pose interesting environments for study.

[mkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by baudrunner If you picture the earth as a ball rolling in its path around the sun then it makes perfect sense that the rotations coincide because the ball is rolling forward and moving forward as it is doing so. Both the orbital direction and the spin are always in sync in a forward rolling object. All the earth is doing is rolling around in elipses. There are exceptions to the rule, in fact there is/are more than one orbiting bodies in this solar system whose spin is counter to the direction of the orbital path. One is a moon around Saturn, I forget the name, too lazy to look it up. The experts conclude that they were thrown from another body and haven't had time to recalibrate. They should pose interesting environments for study.

I may be wrong Baud,but is not one of the
martian moons like this/not sure if it is Phobos or Demos.some thought that
one of these moons was hollow!
kind regards michael.

[zeroca]

Originally Posted by harmonygirl Do we know why they spin? is it related to balance at all? If so, direction would make a difference, no?

I can explain, give my version in case of solid heavenly bodies, but I’m thinking over - analyzing the mechanism concerning Suns. In case of Sun direction of Earth’s spinning can play a role of clue for me between two different variants of construction of universe.

[zeroca]

Originally Posted by baudrunner If you picture the earth as a ball rolling in its path around the sun then it makes perfect sense that the rotations coincide because the ball is rolling forward and moving forward as it is doing so. Both the orbital direction and the spin are always in sync in a forward rolling object. All the earth is doing is rolling around in elipses. There are exceptions to the rule, in fact there is/are more than one orbiting bodies in this solar system whose spin is counter to the direction of the orbital path. One is a moon around Saturn, I forget the name, too lazy to look it up. The experts conclude that they were thrown from another body and haven't had time to recalibrate. They should pose interesting environments for study.

I specially didn’t produce suggesting animations, or one would see clearly that just in case of Earth’s rolling in its path around the Sun both variants are logically equitable.

[baudrunner]

The reason I didn't look up the moons which rotate counter to the direction of the orbit is that it was posted by myself as an answer to a quiz in a post which offered a reward that I didn't get, even an acknowledgement, which asked the wrong question "which is the only moon etc.." because there are more than one (that's probably why). Why should I be able to discover these things and not you?

Look it up!

I specially didn’t produce suggesting animations, or one would see clearly that just in case of Earth’s rolling in its path around the Sun both variants are logically equitable.

yah, whatever..

[theunify]

Whether or not we are in a fixed orbit around the Sun depends....the time might be considered opposite the rotation since the two ideas do not fit exactly. We need a clock that is based on Unified Time.