Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The rotational axis of Earth, for example, is the imaginary line that passes through both the North Pole and South Pole, whereas the Earth's orbital axis is the line perpendicular to the imaginary plane through which the Earth moves as it revolves around the Sun; the Earth's obliquity or axial tilt is the angle between these two lines.
A celestial object's axial tilt indicates whether the object's rotation is prograde or retrograde. Axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotation axis and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane passing through the object's centre. An object with an axial tilt up to 90 degrees is rotating in the same direction as its primary.
For planets and other rotating celestial bodies, the angle of the equatorial plane relative to the orbital plane – such as the tilt of the Earth's poles toward or away from the Sun – is sometimes also called inclination, but less ambiguous terms are axial tilt or obliquity.
The angle of the Earth's axial tilt with respect to the orbital plane (the obliquity of the ecliptic) varies between 22.1° and 24.5°, over a cycle of about 41,000 years. The current tilt is 23.44°, roughly halfway between its extreme values.
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Pages for logged out editors learn more
At noon of January 1st 2000 AD, the mean value of the tilt was 23° 26′ 21.406″ (according to IAU 2006, theory P03), the corresponding value being 23° 26′ 10.633" at noon of January 1st 2023 AD. The main long-term cycle causes the axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1° and 24.5° with a period of 41,000 years.
SEE MORE: Warning for pet owners: this popular candy can be deadly for your dog You've most likely wondered at some point in your life as to why dogs tilt their heads to one side when you talk.
Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles. The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the centre of the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the centre of the Sun is visible at local midnight, and at least ...