Our sun spins in almost the exact same direction as Earth and the rest of the planets orbits, with a small six degree tilt. It was once assumed that all systems work in a similar way, but research has shown that isn't necessarily the case. There have been a few stars discovered that spin differently to a planet that orbits them, but a recent study has found one star rotating in the opposite direction to not one, but two planets in its system. The K system contains a total of three stars, with two planets orbiting its main star, K A.
The interesting part? Space offers plenty of mysteries for astronomers to solve, and there's one in our own Solar System that's been unexplained for decades: why are Venus and Uranus spinning in different directions to the other planets around the Sun? Venus spins on its axis from east to west, while Uranus is tilted so far over, it's virtually spinning on its side.
Every other planet, including our own, spins from west to east, and scientists haven't figured out why. The planets should really all be spinning the same way: our Solar System was formed by a collapsing and rotating cloud of gas, and it's thought that the spin direction of most planets like Earth has been carried over from that ancient rotation. But Venus and Uranus are the exceptions: they have what's known as retrograde rotation , spinning counter to the rotation of the Sun.
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