Ok, so i've heard all my life that the earth orbits the sun in a counter-clockwise direction. Also the rotation of the earth is counter-clockwise.

i've been thinking about this today. why counter-clockwise? it can be both depending on how you look at it. imagine the universe (or at least just our solar system in this case) as a whole.. you have the sun, and the planets rotating the sun.

Now in you imagined model, you probably have an up (top) and a down(bottom) of the solar system. Why did you pick your "up"? which way is up? which way is down? How are you sure?

Now in your imagined model of the solar system, which way is earth orbiting the sun? Now completely flip the solar system your thinking. wouldn't the earth be orbiting the other way now?

so why is earth said to orbit counter-clockwise? There really is no right answer. There is no up and down, or even sideways in the universe.

When leaving earth to go to the moon, would we go straight up to it?, straight down? sideways? Which way? Which way is up?

just something i was thinking about, i hope i explained it well.