9/14/2015

EarthsRotation

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EarthsRotation
byFraserCainonDecember9,2009

Earth,asimagedbytheMESSENGERspaceprobe.Credit:NASA
Whatifsomeoneweretotellyouthatatanygivenmoment,youweretravelingatspeedswellinexcessofthespeedofsound?Youmight
thinktheywerecrazy,giventhatasbestasyoucouldtellyouwerestandingonsolidground,andnotinthecockpitofasupersonicjet.
Nevertheless,thestatementiscorrect.Atanygivenmoment,weareallmovingataspeedofupto1,674kilometersanhour,thankstothe
Earthsrotation,
Bydefinition,theEarthsrotationistheamountoftimethatittakestoturnaroundonceonitsaxis.Thisis,apparently,accomplishedonce
adayi.e.every24hours..However,thereareactuallytwodifferentkindsofrotationthatneedtobeconsideredhere.Forone,theres
theamountoftimeittakefortheEarthtoturnonceonitsaxissothatitreturnstothesameorientationcomparedtotheUniverse.Then
thereshowlongittakesfortheEarthtoturnsothattheSunreturnstothesamespotinthesky.
Toanswerthesecondquestionfirst,ittakesexactly24hoursfortheSuntoreturntothesamespotinthesky,whichwouldseemobvious.
24hoursiswhatwethinkofasbeingacompleteday,andthetimeittakestotransitionfromdaytonight,andbackagain.Buttheanswer
tothesecondquestionismoreinteresting.ItactuallytakestheEarth23hours,56minutes,and4.09secondstoturnonceonitsaxis
comparedtothebackgroundstars.

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Thenightsky,showing6hoursofrotationcapturedbylongexposure.Credit:ChrisSchur
Butwhyisthereadifference?Well,thatwouldbebecausetheEarthisorbitingaroundtheSun,completingoneorbitinjustover365
days.Ifyoudivide24hoursby365days,youllseethatyoureleftwithabout4minutesperday.Inotherwords,theEarthrotatesonits
axis,butitsalsoorbitingaroundtheSun,sotheSunspositionintheskycatchesupby4minuteseachday.
TheamountoftimeittakesfortheEarthtoturnonceonitsaxisisknownasasiderealdaywhichis23.9344696hours.Becausethis
typeofdaymeasurementisbasedontheEarthspositionrelativetothestars,astronomersuseitasatimekeepingsystemtokeeptrackof
wherestarswillappearinthenightsky,mainlysotheywillknowwhichdirectiontopointtheirtelescopesin.
TheamountoftimeittakesfortheSuntoreturntothesamespotintheskyiscalledasolarday,whichis24hours.However,thisvaries
throughtheyear,andtheaccumulatedeffectproducesseasonaldeviationsofupto16minutesfromthemean.Thisiscausedbytwo
factors,thefirstbeingtheEarthsellipticalorbitaroundtheSun,whichcausesittomovefasterwhenitisclosest(perihelion)andslower
whenitisfarthest(aphelion).

Earthsaxialtilt(orobliquity)anditsrelationtotherotationaxisandplaneoforbitas
viewedfromtheSunduringtheNorthwardequinox.Credit:NASA
ThesecondfactorisEarthsaxialtilt,whichmeansthatwhentheSuncrossestheequatoratbothequinoxes,itsdailyshiftrelativetothe
backgroundstarsisatanangletotheequator.InJuneandDecemberwhenthesunisfarthestfromthecelestialequatoragivenshiftalong
theeclipticcorrespondstoalargeshiftattheequator.SoapparentsolardaysareshorterinMarchandSeptemberthaninJuneor
December.
Andasstatedearlier,theEarthsisspinningratherrapidly.Infact,scientistshavedeterminedthatEarthsrotationalvelocityatthe
equatoris1,674.4km/h.Thismeansthatjustbystandingontheequator,apersonwouldalreadybetravelingataspeedof1,674.4km/hin
acircle.However,theplanetisslowingslightlywiththepassageoftime,duetothetidaleffectstheMoonhasonEarthsrotation.
Atomicclocksshowthatamoderndayislongerbyabout1.7millisecondsthanacenturyago,slowlyincreasingtherateatwhichUTCis

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Atomicclocksshowthatamoderndayislongerbyabout1.7millisecondsthanacenturyago,slowlyincreasingtherateatwhichUTCis
adjustedbyleapseconds.TheEarthsrotationalsogoesfromthewesttowardseast,whichiswhytheSunrisesintheeastandsetsinthe
west.

ArtistsimpressionwhattheSolarSystemlookedlikeintheearlystagesofformation,
asadustcloudcirclingastar.Credit:JPL/NASA
AnotherinterestingthingabouttheEarthsrotationishowitallgotstarted.Basically,theplanetsrotationisdudetotheangular
momentumofalltheparticlesthatcametogethertocreateourplanet4.6billionyearsago.Beforethat,theEarth,theSunandtherestof
theSolarSystemwereoncepartofagiantmolecularcloudofhydrogen,helium,andotherheavierelements.
Asthecloudcollapseddown,themomentumofalltheparticlessetthecloudspinning.ThecurrentrotationperiodoftheEarthisthe
resultofthisinitialrotationandotherfactors,includingtidalfrictionandthehypotheticalimpactofTheiaacollisionwithaMarssized
worldthatisthoughttohavetakenplaceapprox.4.5billionyearsagoandformedtheMoon.
ThisrapidrotationisalsowhatgivestheEarthitsshape,flatteningitoutintoanoblatespheroid(orwhatlookslikeasquishedball).This
specialshapeofourplanetmeansthatpointsalongtheequatorareactuallyfurtherfromthecenteroftheEarththanatthepoles.
Inshort,theworldhasbeenspinningsinceitsinception.And,contrarytowhatsomemightsay,itactuallyisslowingdown,albeitatan
incrediblyslowrate.
WevewrittenseveralarticlesallaboutEarthforUniverseToday.HeresanarticleabouthowfasttheEarthrotates,andheresanarticle
aboutwhytheEarthrotates.
IfyoudlikemoreinformationontheEarthsrotation,checkoutNASAsSolarSystemExplorationGuideonEarth.Andheresalinkto
NASAsEarthObservatory.
WevealsorecordedanepisodeofAstronomyCastallaboutEarth.Listenhere,Episode51:Earth.
Reference:
NASA
AboutFraserCain
FraserCainisthepublisherofUniverseToday.He'salsothecohostofAstronomyCastwithDr.PamelaGay.

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HowFastDoestheEarthRotate?
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HowFastDoestheEarthRotate?
Thisarticleoriginallyappearedin2009,butI've
updateditandaddedthisvideo.Theground
feelsfirmandsolidbeneathyourfeet.Ofcourse,
theEarthisrotating,turningonceonitsaxis
everyday.Fortunatelygravitykeepsyoufirmly
In"Astronomy"
attachedtotheplanet,andbecauseof

EarthsRotation

WhatDirectionDoestheEarthRotate
In"GuidetoSpace"

EarthRevolution
In"Astronomy"

@fcain
Commentsonthisentryareclosed.
Nextpost:EarthsTilt
Previouspost:WeirdGiantSpiralSeeninSkyoverNorway
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