2007-01-16 02:28:11 · 10 answers · asked by melinna 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The earth doesn't tilt relative to its axis- it spins directly around its axis. It just that its axis of rotation is tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the plane in which the earth orbits the sun.
Why? No specific reason can be known, but it's just the way all the primordial mass glombed together to form the planet. Perhaps it got hit by a large chunk of something (maybe the piece that broke off and formed the moon) which knocked it's axis of rotation off kilter.
FWIW- all the other planets are tilted to one degree or another. Venus is 179 degrees off (i.e. spinning the other way), Mars is 25 deg, Jupiter is 3 deg, Saturn is 26.7 deg, Uranus is a full 98 degrees- completely out of the rotational plane, neptune is 29 degrees.
And for those above. The answer to a science question is NOT- "because god made it that way". That's an answer that ignores science (which, one might argue, god created).
2007-01-16 02:38:24 · answer #1 · answered by Morey000 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Morey000 has the most complete answer, and Michael C raises an interesting point. The gyroscopic tilt and rotation or the direction of pointing of the axis is called precession, and the Earth does undergo that same phenomenon. In fact, due to precession the north pole of the earth (currently pointing at the star Alpha Ursa Minoris -Polaris) will point to the very bright star Alpha Lyrae (Vega) in several thousand years. The pole precesses every 26,000 years, or so. Another effect of the axial precession is the precession of the equinoxes..the point in the sky where the sun crosses the ecliptic changes from year to year, so in some 13000 years the stars we see as summer stars in the evening will be winter stars in the evening, at the same time of day.
If you are an amateur astronomer like myself you will know that the positions of the stars relative to the earth change (ever so slightly) each year, so a star atlas for 1950 will show slightly different stellar coordinates than one designed for 2000. When pointing a telescope at something that slight amount can be significant. This motion has nothing to do with the actual movement of stars as they make their way through space..it is caused by the precession of the equinoxes.
2007-01-16 02:47:57 · answer #2 · answered by David A 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two possible answers. The first is due to the gyroscopic inertia generated by the planet as it rotates (excuse my lack of scientific terms). If you have ever seen a toy gyroscope spin, it never spins at a completely vertical postion, but always at an angle.
The other is down to the belief that the Earth was struck by a planetoid the size of Mars early in its life. This impact helped create the moon, but also knocked the Earth's axis into a slight tilt.
2007-01-16 02:38:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Earth's axis is the numerous reason behind the seasons. If Earth had no tilt, then the size of daylight hours and the intensity of image voltaic heating considered with information from someone status at a unmarried position on the floor might want to be the same all 12 months round. the section close to Earth's equator might want to nonetheless be hotter than the section around the poles, yet there might want to be no seasonal transformations in temperature: the Equator might want to continually be warm, the poles might want to continually be chilly, and the U. S. might want to continually be blah!
2016-12-02 09:02:41 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Morey deserves the ten points - great answer.
I will quibble with his statement "The answer to a science question is NOT- "because god made it that way". That's an answer that ignores science"
Not always. To answer the question "How was the Big Bang created?" with "A higher power did it." does not ignore any scientific knowledge, nor does it conflict with known science in any way. It's just as good an answer as any "scientific" one, based on all available scientific evidence.
2007-01-16 06:13:53 · answer #5 · answered by Bob 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe its because of the moons orbit. If the moon was to move further away, the spin and tilt would change..
2007-01-16 08:27:19 · answer #6 · answered by charlie2900 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moon is a recoil of matter from a large impact to the earth.Also the spinning top theory.
2007-01-17 13:34:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go with the answer from michael c. He da man!
2007-01-16 03:04:33 · answer #8 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how god made the earth to have 4 seasons.
2007-01-16 02:36:59 · answer #9 · answered by #@%! 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Because that's the way God made it.
2007-01-16 02:31:39 · answer #10 · answered by Irish Girl 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋