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Astronomy/plantentary rotation

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Expert: - 7/14/2009


Question
Do any planents or moons have rotation in one direction and others in another (opposite) direction?

Answer
Craig,

Yes.  Jupiter has dozens of moons, and at least four of them orbit in the opposite direction from most of the others.  This is called retrograde motion, by the way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_and_direct_motion

The moons of Jupiter that you would be most interested in are called Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, and Sinope.

Neptune has a certain moon, called Triton, which fits the desciption of what you're looking for.

Saturn's moon Phoebe has a retrograde orbit.

I hope this is helpful.  Keep Looking Up!
--Ed  

Astronomy

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Ed

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I am not a professional astronomer by any means, but astronomy has been an interest of mine since childhood, and I am well-informed on the subject. If unable to answer someone`s question personally, I will know how to quickly find the answer online, because I keep myself informed about developments in the field and I know where to look for information.

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I worked in an observatory for awhile at one point, doing various interesting things with a computer.

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