I read somewhere that the earth could tilt over on its axis because there is too much weight in Antarctica due to the ice. Could global warming make this happen sooner, if the Arctic ice sheet melts (the weight would be distributed away from the north)?
Has it started to happen already? I read about Inuit people in Canada who are saying that the sun seems to be in the wrong place in the sky. (Though I know that the earth does wobble a bit.)
I don't mean magnetic pole reversal. I mean that the earth itself could actually tilt over.
2007-05-12 10:24:58 · 9 answers · asked by 2kool4u 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
OH please!!!!! just let ireland tilt about 200 miles south and I'll be happy!!
2007-05-12 10:30:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is no way the Earth's tilt would change because of ice or lack of ice. At least not by a measurable amount. And there are countless astronomers, many of them amateurs, who would have noticed if the Sun were in the wrong part of the sky and it would be BIG news world wide, not just for Inuit people in Canada . If Earth's tilt changed by 3 to 5 degrees then the North star would not be at the north pole any more. There is no way that would go unnoticed.
2007-05-12 10:54:29 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The earth is not going anywhere, except for of course the rate of expansion of the universe, but thats a whole other topic entirely. The pull of gravity from the moon and the sun keep the earth perfectly nestled in exactly the right position. And say theoretically if the earth "tilted" over, the effect that it would have on the earth would be that everything would be reflected over the equatorial axis, that is, if it is Daylight now in US, and Dark in Australia, then the opposite would be true, and this would apply to seasons, daylight, any just about anything you can pin to a certain hemisphere
2007-05-12 11:19:20 · answer #3 · answered by mattman059 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When something spins on its axis the is a quantity called angular momentum that stays the same unless some external torque acts on that thing.
In order for the Earth to change its axis of rotation there would have to be some major shift in the mass distribution of the Earth or some major torque from something outside the Earth.
The melting ice caps might cause a tiny shift in the speed of the rotation of the Earth, but the amount of mass in the Earth's water is simply too small to cause a major change in the Earth's rotation.
2007-05-12 10:37:10 · answer #4 · answered by 2 meter man 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The earth i think 3 or 2 years ago tilted 3 to 5 degrees due to an unknown reason, i think because of global warming this has happened, so maybe this answered your question.
2007-05-12 10:50:39 · answer #5 · answered by guille4ty 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nothing to worry about. In a couple of billion years our sun will turn into a red giant, and fry everything out to Mars, and maybe beyond. The sun could also turn into a super nova and explode !
2007-05-12 14:27:15 · answer #6 · answered by Vinegar Taster 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no way that this could happen from the way you are explaining it. It is POSSIBLE for the Earth to be knocked over by something colliding with it. That is also very unlikely. What is the source of this article?
2007-05-12 11:17:54 · answer #7 · answered by hotblondbabe420 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, this won't happen. There is no up or down in space, because there is no gravity, so adding weight to one end of something cannot make it tilt over.
2007-05-12 10:34:11 · answer #8 · answered by thegirlwitharidiculouslylongname 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well it already tilted with the Tsunami that happened a few years ago.
2007-05-12 10:34:33 · answer #9 · answered by saltamontes20 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋