<P> In Earth 's sky , the Sun , Moon , and stars appear to move from east to west because of the rotation of Earth ( so - called diurnal motion ) . However , orbiters such as the Space Shuttle and many artificial satellites appear to move from west to east . These are direct satellites ( they actually orbit Earth in the same direction as the Moon ) , but they orbit Earth faster than Earth itself rotates , and so appear to move in the opposite direction of the Moon . Mars has a natural satellite Phobos , with a similar orbit . From the surface of Mars it appears to move in the opposite direction because its orbital period is less than a Martian day . There are also smaller numbers of truly retrograde artificial satellites orbiting Earth which counter-intuitively appear to move westward , in the same direction as the Moon . </P>
<P> In Earth 's sky , the Sun , Moon , and stars appear to move from east to west because of the rotation of Earth ( so - called diurnal motion ) . However , orbiters such as the Space Shuttle and many artificial satellites appear to move from west to east . These are direct satellites ( they actually orbit Earth in the same direction as the Moon ) , but they orbit Earth faster than Earth itself rotates , and so appear to move in the opposite direction of the Moon . Mars has a natural satellite Phobos , with a similar orbit . From the surface of Mars it appears to move in the opposite direction because its orbital period is less than a Martian day . There are also smaller numbers of truly retrograde artificial satellites orbiting Earth which counter-intuitively appear to move westward , in the same direction as the Moon . </P>
a constellation appears to move from east to west in the sky during the night because
a constellation appears to move from east to west in the sky during the night because
of the rotation of Earth ( so - called diurnal motion )
of the rotation of Earth ( so - called diurnal motion )