what direction does the earth orbit around the sun
counterclockwise
title: Earth's orbit text: As seen from Earth, the planet's orbital prograde motion makes the Sun appear to move with respect to other stars at a rate of about 1° (or a Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours) eastward per solar day. Earth's orbital speed averages about 30 km/s (108,000 km/h; 67,000 mph), which is fast enough to cover the planet's diameter in 7 minutes and the distance to the Moon in 4 hours. From a vantage point above the north pole of either the Sun or Earth, Earth would appear to revolve in a counterclockwise direction around the Sun. From the same title: Earth's orbit text: Earth's orbit All celestial bodies in the Solar System, including planets such as our own, orbit around the Solar System's centre of mass. The sun makes up 99.76% of this mass which is why the centre of mass is extremely close to the sun. Earth's orbit is the trajectory along which Earth travels around the Sun. The average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi), and one complete orbit takes days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth has traveled 940 million km (584 million mi). Earth's orbit has an eccentricity of 0.0167. title: Earth's rotation text: Earth's rotation Earth's rotation is the rotation of Planet Earth around its own axis. Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion. As viewed from the north pole star Polaris, Earth turns counter clockwise. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. This point is distinct from Earth's North Magnetic Pole. The South Pole is the other point where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface, in Antarctica. Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the Sun, but title: Earth text: Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. Earth revolves around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times. Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to its orbital plane, producing seasons on Earth. The gravitational interaction between Earth and title: Earth text: hours. Due to this motion, on average it takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of Earth averages about , which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Earth's diameter, about , in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon, , in about 3.5 hours. The Moon and Earth orbit a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the background stars. When combined with the Earth–Moon system's common orbit around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from