Illustration showing New Zealand (not to scale) as it is just leaving (morning, left) and is just about to enter (evening, right) the night side of the planet. The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, giving rise to the day-night cycle as the Sun rises and sets as seen from the Earth. The direction of rotation is anti-clockwise when viewed looking down on the Earth from above the North Pole, with the Earth's surface moving from west to east under the Sun. For a labelled version of this image see C057/3785.