Scribd
Upload
106 views58 pages

Motions of The Earth

Uploaded by

dadaascutia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
106 views58 pages

Motions of The Earth

Uploaded by

dadaascutia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 58

What are the

motions of the
Earth?
Motions of the Earth:

1. Rotation
2. Revolution
3. Axial Precession
What do we mean by
Earth’s rotation?
Motions of the Earth:
1. Rotation – turning or spinning of a body on it’s
axis which is tilted 23.5
degrees.
How did astronomers
discovered the Earth is
tilted at 23.5 degrees?
Fun Fact:
GNOMON
A gnomon is a
device for
recording shadows
in order to track
the Sun's
movement in the
sky at different
times during the
day.
Fun Fact:
GNOMON
A rod placed on the
Tropic of Cancer does
not cast a shadow at
noon.(Summer
Solstice)
A rod placed in the
Tropic of Capricorn
does not cast a
shadow at noon.
(Winter Solstice)
• The tilt of our rotational axis
leads to longer days in the
summer time and longer
nights in the winter. Seasonal
changes and changes in how
the Sun moves through the
sky during a year.
• The earth's spin axis is tilted with
respect to its orbital plane. This is
what causes the seasons. When the
earth's axis points towards the sun,
it is summer for that hemisphere.
When the earth's axis points away,
winter can be expected.
What are the main
consequences of the
Earth’s rotation?
Night & Day
How long does it take to
make one full rotation?
One full rotation: 23h 56m 4s
1. Sidereal Day (sider=star; at=pertaining) the time it
takes for Earth to make one complete rotation(360
degrees) with respect to a star, other than the Sun.
Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the
Sun, but once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4
seconds with respect to other distant stars
What kind of day do our
clocks measure to be 24
hours long?
24 Hours
2. Mean Solar Day – the time interval from one
noon to the next, which averages about 24
hours.

Noon-when the Sun has reached its zenith


(highest point in the sky)
Why the
difference?
Rotation=23 hours and
56 minutes

The direction to the Sun


changes by 1 degree
each day.
Earth revolves around the Sun:
If you divide 24
hours by 365
days, you’ll see
that you’re left
with about 4
minutes per
day.
Do stars rise exactly
at the same time
every day?
No, it would rise 4
minutes earlier each
night.

15 days =1hr
30 days = 2 hrs.
12 months = 24 hrs.
#each star completes
one full circle around
the sky during the
course of one year
Why do we use the mean
solar day to measure time
rather than the sidereal
day?
Sidereal time: Noon would occur at
midnight
• In sidereal time, “noon” occurs four minutes
earlier each day. Therefore after a span of six
months, “noon” would occur at midnight.
If a star rises at exactly 9:00
pm at what time will it rise
again?
4 minutes earlier: 8:56 pm
What do we mean by
revolution?
Revolution: Motion of a body, such
as planet or Moon, along a path
around some point in space.
• he terms Aphelion and Perihelion describe the
furthest and closest distance the Earth is to
the Sun, respectively. The Earth is farthest
from the Sun (aphelion) roughly two weeks
after the summer solstice, and closest to the
Sun (perihelion) roughly 2 weeks after the
winter solstice.
• Although our planet receives 6.5% more solar
energy at perihelion than when it is farthest
from the Sun, these differences are too small
to affect Earth's temperature and climate.
How many days (solar
day) does it take to
complete one
revolution?
One revolution: 365.25 Days
You may be used to hearing that it takes the Earth
365 days to make a full lap, but that journey actually
lasts about 365 and a quarter days. Leap years help
to keep the 12-month calendar matched up with
Earth's movement around the Sun. After four years,
those leftover hours add up to a whole day.
Does it mean that the main
cause of the season is the
distance between the Sun and
the Earth?
NO, but to the 23.5 tilt of Earth’s axis
of Rotation
Solstices
vs. Equinox
Solstices vs. Equinoxes
The solstices are days when Equinoxes are days in which day
the Sun reaches its farthest northern and night are of equal duration.
and southern declinations. • The two yearly equinoxes occur
• The winter solstice occurs on when the Sun crosses the celestial
December 21 or 22 and marks equator.
the beginning of winter (this • The vernal equinox occurs in late
is the shortest day of the March (this is the beginning of
year). spring in the Northern Hemisphere
• The summer solstice occurs and the beginning of fall in the
Southern Hemisphere); the
on June 21 and marks the
autumnal equinox occurs in late
beginning of summer (this is September (this is the beginning of
the longest day of the year). fall in the Northern Hemisphere
and the beginning of spring in the
Southern Hemisphere).
Why do different stars
appear with seasons?
• Revolution is responsible for the fact that we can see
different parts of the sky at different parts of the year
• Why is it that, stars that are in the opposite direction to
the Sun can only be seen?
• All the stars that are 'behind' the Sun won't be visible
during that day, because they are above the horizon
during the day (and we can see stars only during night)!
When does the Sun
exactly rises on the East
and sets on the West?
Spring and Fall Equinoxes the day
and night are equally long, and the
Sun rises exactly in the east, sets
exactly in the west.
What is axial
precession?
Axial Precession: the axis
traces a circle on the sky
“wobble effect”

The period of precession


is 26, 000 years.
Axial precession is a gravity-
induced, slow, and continuous
change in the orientation of an
astronomical body's rotational axis.
https://youtu.be/Dw4Xhw4q4ec
• Precession is the slow change in Earth's
rotational axis. It is caused by gravitational
forces exerted upon Earth, mainly by the
Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter.
•
EFFECTS
Axial precession makes seasonal
contrasts more extreme in one
hemisphere and less extreme in the
other. Currently perihelion occurs during
winter in the Northern Hemisphere and
in summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
• This makes Southern Hemisphere
summers hotter and moderates Northern
Hemisphere seasonal variations.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D-OBZaI
nt4
Will Polaris always be the Earth's
North Pole?Star?
In AD 14 000 it will point toward the
bright star Vega, which will be the
North Star for about a thousand of
years or so.
Is it possible that the Sun is also
in motion?
The Sun revolves around the galaxy,
a trip that requires 230 million years
to complete at speeds approaching
150 miles per second.
Is it possible that the galaxy is
also in motion?
We are presently approaching the
nearest galactic neighbours, the
Great Galaxy in Andromeda.

You might also like