The question, "Do the planets travel around the sun clockwise or counter-clockwise?" is best answered by that old standby answer, "It depends." Namely, the correct answer depends on your point of reference. Point of reference is easier on Earth than it is in space.

So stating, "The planets travel counter-clockwise," without clarifying your point of view leaves room for mis-interpretation. While I can appreciate the view that the average person is smart enough to know all this, I think that's a debatable issue. C.S. Lewis wrote "Typical readers are like sheep; they will wander into any gate the author unintentionally leaves open."

In something meant for the common public, the more in-depth explanation the better, although one runs the risk of that old complaint, "appealing to the lowest common denominator." Much depends on the audience. I'm quite sure BA doesn't hedge and over-clarify and over-explain beginning-level astronomy concepts when talking shop with his peers and co-workers. But when dealing with the public, whose education, cultural experience, and plain ol' horse sense can range from that of elementary-school kids to degreed professionals, it's best to be both precise and thorough, never mind the tension those two rules create. Science is not poetry*; it's better to use the technical terminology when possible to avoid error.

* Not that science can't be poetic, of course. It's just that science requires an accuracy that need not concern the poet.