alt Hacker NewsI wonder if that's a common thing generally or not. Definitely I should add it as an option though. Also whether the year starts at the top or bottom of the dial.
The planets do go around the Sun anticlockwise when viewed looking down from above the North pole [0], and most diagrams show it that way, so maybe that's where the idea comes from?
Yes, this has to be where the picture originates. Given that almost all maps show the north facing up, picturing the Earth rotating anti-clockwise around the Sun throughout the year makes sense. A bit similar to how clocks for the times of day run clockwise probably because this aligns with the rotation of a sundial placed in the Northern hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere, a sundial runs anti-clockwise.
Although, converse arguments can be made for both - even if we assume an observer located in the north. If we do indeed picture the Earth rotating in space from the outside - it actually rotates counterclockwise around its axis with the north up. So should day clocks actually run "backwards"? And the "fixed" background of distant stars seem to rotate around a northern observer in the clockwise direction throughout the year - so the image of the year rotating clockwise is just as correct.
Everything seems relative to the prespective chosen.