I think the problem is that the article says to imagine looking "down" on the solar system from "above" the sun's north pole. So the counterclockwise movement o

I think the problem is that the article says to imagine looking "down" on the solar system from "above" the sun's north pole. So the counterclockwise movement of Earth means it is passing another planet from right to left, so the view of the planet is left to right, from this perspective. But that's not really how we think of Earth. We orient "up" as "towards the north", not "away". So the whole thing is backwards. It's easier to work out if you imagine viewing from the south pole, watching the planets orbiting clockwise. Then Earth is passing a planet like Mars from left to right, meaning the view is changing right to left, which is more obviously East to West.