Do all the planets rotate in the same general direction?
The planets in our solar system all orbit the Sun the same way – with Pluto a bit off the plane but they orbit in the same direction. As for their rotation on their own axes, it’s like this: Seen from way above our North Pole, all the planets in general rotate around axes that are orientated like ours in space. Some axes like ours are tilted to the plane of the Solar System (SS) (ours is tilted 23 deg.; Mars, 24 deg.) some, like Jupiter, are almost straight up. The exception is Uranus, which rotates on its side as it goes round the Sun, with its axis pointing nearly aligned with the plane, always in the same direction in space (and thus only twice a year towards the sun). Uranus’ orbit is from causes unknown. Perhaps it is the product of a collision, or an early close planetesimal interaction. All the other planets rotate counter clockwise, which is also the direction they orbit the Sun, except Venus. Venus orbits with the other planets but spins backwards. This was only discovered in
