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In physics, there are two types of precession: torque-free and torque-induced. In astronomy, precession refers to any of several slow changes in an astronomical body's rotational or orbital parameters. An important example is the steady change in the orientation of the axis of rotation of the Earth, known as the precession of the equinoxes.
This oscillation is called nutation. If the motion is damped, the oscillations will die down until the motion is a steady precession. [3] [4] The physics of nutation in tops and gyroscopes can be explored using the model of a heavy symmetrical top with its tip fixed. (A symmetrical top is one with rotational symmetry, or more generally one in ...
An example of precession and nutation is the variation over time of the orientation of the axis of rotation of the Earth. This is important because the most commonly used frame of reference for measurement of the positions of astronomical objects is the Earth's equator — the so-called equatorial coordinate system .
It amounts to change of about 9 metres (30 ft) in the point at which the axis intersects the Earth's surface and has a period of 433 days. [2] [3] This wobble, which is an astronomical nutation, combines with another wobble with a period of six years, so that the total polar motion varies with a period of about 7 years.
The gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge cause the rotational axis of the Earth to precess in space similar to the action of a top. This is called precession. Nutation is the smaller amplitude shorter-period (< 18.6 years) wobble that is superposed on the precessional motion of the Celestial pole. It is ...
Euler basic motions of the Earth. Intrinsic (green), Precession (blue) and Nutation (red) Precession, nutation, and intrinsic rotation (spin) are defined as the movements obtained by changing one of the Euler angles while leaving the other two constant. These motions are not expressed in terms of the external frame, or in terms of the co-moving ...
Earth's rotation axis moves with respect to the fixed stars (inertial space); the components of this motion are precession and nutation. It also moves with respect to Earth's crust; this is called polar motion. Precession is a rotation of Earth's rotation axis, caused primarily by external torques from the gravity of the Sun, Moon and other bodies.
The term "precession" typically refers only to this largest part of the motion; other changes in the alignment of Earth's axis—nutation and polar motion—are much smaller in magnitude. Earth's precession was historically called the precession of the equinoxes , because the equinoxes moved westward along the ecliptic relative to the fixed ...