This is a prograde rotation. Because of this direction of rotation, we see the sun rising every day in the east and setting in the west. If a planet spins in a clockwise direction, it is said to have a retrograde rotation. Venus is an example of a planet with a retrograde rotation. It is determined by the mass of the object and the object's rate of rotation. The Coriolis force is perpendicular to the object's axis. The Earth spins on its axis from west to east. The Coriolis force, therefore, acts in a north-south direction.