Does The Sun Really "Rise" and "Set"?
(What Scientists Say)

The sun stays in its position at the center of our solar system. It appears to rise and set due to the Earth's rotation. The Earth rotates on its axis and makes one complete turn every 24 hours. It turns toward the east.

As the Earth rotates, different locations on Earth pass through the sun's light. The photos show how that looks every hour. As your town (or Africa, in these photos) turns toward the sun and begins to enter its light, the sun appears to rise; as your town begins to leave the sun's light and enter darkness, it appears to set.

Does this help explain why the sun seems to rise in the east and set in the west?

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Try this! Shine a flashlight on the side of a ball and rotate the ball counterclockwise. (You can figure out which way to rotate 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.