All the planets rotate around the sun in the same direction – counter clockwise when seen from the sun's south pole. The time it takes for a planet to go around the sun is one day and this time varies depending on how far away the planet is from the sun. The further away a planet is from the sun, the longer it takes to rotate around the sun and also the slower the speed as it is also affected by the strength of the sun's gravity.
There are actually three planets that rotate from east to west – Venus, Uranus and Pluto. All the others rotate in the opposite direction with the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
The planets also tilt towards the sun at varying degrees and it's this that gives the planets their seasons and the point at which each hemisphere if each planet is nearest/furthest from the sun is called the solstice. These points mark the point of the longest or shortest days, depending on which hemisphere you are looking at.
The seasonal variation depends on the tilt of the planet, not much in the case of Jupiter and so great in the case of Uranus that each hemisphere is constantly in darkness/light at the time of the solstice.
There are actually three planets that rotate from east to west – Venus, Uranus and Pluto. All the others rotate in the opposite direction with the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
The planets also tilt towards the sun at varying degrees and it's this that gives the planets their seasons and the point at which each hemisphere if each planet is nearest/furthest from the sun is called the solstice. These points mark the point of the longest or shortest days, depending on which hemisphere you are looking at.
The seasonal variation depends on the tilt of the planet, not much in the case of Jupiter and so great in the case of Uranus that each hemisphere is constantly in darkness/light at the time of the solstice.
