What does it mean when Earth spins like a top?

Earth spins like a top, just like when you twirl a toy top on the floor and it keeps going around and around.

Imagine you're sitting on a merry-go-round at the park. When it starts spinning, you feel yourself moving in circles while everything else seems to move backward. That’s what happens with Earth, we’re all riding along as it spins around its axis, which is like an invisible line going through the middle of Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Because Earth is spinning, we get day and night. When your part of Earth faces toward the Sun, it’s daytime, just like when you're on the outside of a merry-go-round and can see the sky. When your part turns away, it's nighttime, like being on the inside of the ride where it gets darker.

Earth doesn’t stop spinning, it keeps going around once every 24 hours, just like your favorite toy top keeps twirling until you let go. Earth spins like a top, just like when you twirl a toy top on the floor and it keeps going around and around.