As
the Earth rotates, different locations on Earth pass through the sun's
light. The animation shows how that looks hour by hour (for 4 hours).
As your town turns toward the sun and begins to enter its light, the
sun seems to rise in the east. As your town begins to leave the sun's
light and enter darkness, it appears to set in the west.
Try
this!
Shine a
flashlight on the side of a ball and rotate the ball counterclockwise.
(You can figure out which way to turn it by looking down on the ball
from above and thinking of a clock face.) Watch what happens to the
light and dark areas as the ball turns. This is what happens on the
earth as it rotates toward the east (counterclockwise).
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