The Earth is constantly in motion, rotating around its own axis and around the Sun. This causes the origin of various phenomena on its surface: the change of seasons, the alternation of day and night. Favorable conditions for life on Earth are due to this movement and the favorable location of the planet relative to the Sun (about 150 million kilometers away). If the planet were closer, water would evaporate from its surface. If further - all living things would freeze. An important role is played by the atmosphere, which protects against harmful cosmic rays.

Let us dwell in more detail on two such constant invisible companions of life as the movement of the Earth around an imaginary line (axis) and the Sun.

The speed of the earth's rotation around its axis

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Along with all the others, it revolves around the Sun, and also has its own rotation around its axis. The fastest planets in the solar system are the giant planets.:

• Jupiter.
• Saturn.

They complete the day in 10 hours.

The rotation of the Earth around its axis takes 23 hours 56 minutes. Plus, an additional 4 minutes are required for the Sun to return to its original position. The speed of rotation on the surface depends on where the motion is observed.

If we talk about the equator, then the rotation of the Earth reaches 1670 kilometers per hour or 465 meters per second. The calculations are carried out taking into account the fact that in the region of the equator the circumference of the planet reaches over 40,000 kilometers. If the planet abruptly stops moving, then people and objects located at the same speed will break away and fly forward.

Closer to the 30th latitude, the rotation of the Earth around its axis decreases to 1440 kilometers per hour, gradually dropping to 0 kilometers per hour at the poles (the rule works both towards the South and North Poles). This movement remains imperceptible to people due to the huge mass of the planet.

From this video you will learn why we do not feel the rotation of the earth.

Significance for humanity

Differences in the speed of movement have their practical significance. Countries prefer to build spaceports closer to the equator. Due to the speed of the planet's rotation, less fuel is required to enter orbit, or a larger amount of payload can be lifted. At the same time, at the start, the rocket already has a speed of 1,675 kilometers per hour, so it is easier for it to accelerate to an orbital speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour.

The moon, by its influence, constantly stabilizes the inclination of the planet's axis. Because of this, the speed of rotation of the planet is gradually decreasing. Twice a year, in November and April, the length of the day increases by 0.001 second.

Time of complete revolution around the sun

The speed of rotation of the Earth around the Sun is about 107,000 kilometers per hour. The planet makes a complete revolution in 365 days, 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds, passing about a billion kilometers during this time. Every year, an extra five hours “run in”, which astronomers add up and add 366 days every four years - such a year is called a leap year.

If you recalculate, it turns out that every second the Earth flies in outer space about 30 kilometers. Even the speed of the world's fastest racing car is only about 300 kilometers per hour - this is 350 times less than the speed of the planet in orbit. Man cannot adequately imagine such enormous speeds.

During rotation, a force arises that could throw a person or object from the surface of the Earth like an object spun on a rope. But this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, since this force is almost completely suppressed by gravity and is only 0.03% of it.

Like rotation around an axis, this movement gradually slows down by amounts imperceptible to ordinary people. Also, the axis in the direction of travel gradually deviates during the year, so that regions alternately change places in which:

• winter summer;
• autumn/spring.

Once people believed that the Earth is a motionless body around which the Sun and all other objects revolve. Long-term observations and improvement of technology made it possible to gradually understand the issue, and now almost all the inhabitants of the planet know how fast the Earth rotates, and that she herself has to work hard, substituting the sides of a huge star to provide day / night and winter / summer.

Video

From this video you will learn how and at what speed the Earth revolves around the Sun.

The earth is constantly in motion, revolving around the sun and around its own axis. This movement and the constant tilt of the Earth's axis (23.5°) determines many of the effects that we observe as normal phenomena: night and day (due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis), the change of seasons (due to the tilt of the Earth's axis), and different climate in different areas. Globes can be rotated and their axis has an inclination like the Earth's axis (23.5 °), so with the help of a globe you can trace the movement of the Earth around its axis quite accurately, and with the help of the "Earth - Sun" system you can trace the movement of the Earth around the Sun.

Rotation of the Earth around its axis

The earth rotates on its own axis from west to east (counterclockwise as viewed from the North Pole). It takes the Earth 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09 seconds to complete one complete revolution on its own axis. Day and night are due to the rotation of the earth. The angular velocity of the Earth's rotation around its axis, or the angle by which any point on the Earth's surface turns, is the same. It is 15 degrees in one hour. But the linear speed of rotation anywhere on the equator is approximately 1,669 kilometers per hour (464 m/s), decreasing to zero at the poles. For example, the rotation speed at a latitude of 30° is 1445 km/h (400 m/s).
We do not notice the rotation of the Earth for the simple reason that all the objects around us are moving in parallel and simultaneously with us at the same speed and there are no "relative" movements of objects around us. If, for example, a ship moves evenly, without acceleration and deceleration across the sea in calm weather, without waves on the surface of the water, we will not feel at all how such a ship moves if we are in a cabin without a porthole, since all objects inside the cabin will be move in parallel with us and the ship.

Movement of the Earth around the Sun

While the Earth rotates on its own axis, it also rotates around the Sun from west to east counterclockwise, as viewed from the north pole. It takes the Earth one sidereal year (about 365.2564 days) to complete one complete revolution around the Sun. The path of the Earth around the Sun is called the Earth's orbit. and this orbit is not perfectly round. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 150 million kilometers, and this distance varies up to 5 million kilometers, forming a small oval orbit (ellipse). The point in the Earth's orbit closest to the Sun is called Perihelion. Earth passes this point in early January. The point in the Earth's orbit that is farthest from the Sun is called Aphelion. Earth passes this point in early July.
Since our Earth moves around the Sun in an elliptical trajectory, the orbital speed changes. In July, the speed is minimal (29.27 km/s) and after passing aphelion (the upper red dot on the animation) it starts to accelerate, and in January the speed is maximum (30.27 km/s) and starts to slow down after passing the perihelion (lower red dot). ).
While the Earth makes one revolution around the Sun, it overcomes a distance equal to 942 million kilometers in 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9.5 seconds, that is, we rush along with the Earth around the Sun at an average speed of 30 km per second (or 107 460 km per hour), and at the same time the Earth rotates around its own axis in 24 hours once (365 times in a year).
In fact, if we consider the movement of the Earth more scrupulously, then it is much more complicated, since various factors influence the Earth: the rotation of the Moon around the Earth, the attraction of other planets and stars.

The earth does not stand still, but is in constant motion. Due to the fact that it revolves around the Sun, the planet undergoes a change of seasons. However, not everyone remembers that, flying around the heavenly body, the Earth still has time to spin around its own axis. It is this movement that causes the change of day and night outside the window and is called diurnal.

To understand how and with what speed the Earth rotates around the Sun and its axis, AiF.ru helped astrophysicist, employee of the Moscow Planetarium Alexander Perkhnyak.

The movement of the earth around its axis

How does the earth rotate on its axis?

During the rotation of the Earth around its axis, only two points remain motionless: the North and South Poles. If you connect them with an imaginary line, you get the axis around which the Earth rotates. The earth's axis is not perpendicular, but is at an angle of 23.5 ° to the earth's orbit.

At what speed does the earth rotate on its axis?

The earth rotates around its axis at a speed of 465 m/s, or 1,674 km/h. The farther from the equator, the slower the planet's movement.

“Few people know that at a distance from the equator, the speed of rotation of the Earth becomes less. Visually it looks like this. The city of Quito is located near the equator line, which means that it and its inhabitants imperceptibly make a turn together with the Earth at a speed of 465 m/s. But the rotation speed of Muscovites living much north of the equator will be almost two times less: 260 m/s,” said Perkhnyak.

In which direction does the earth rotate?

The rotation of the Earth around its axis occurs from west to east. If you look at the Earth from above in the direction of the North Pole, then it will rotate counterclockwise.

Does the speed of the Earth's movement around its axis change?

Yes, it's changing. Every year, the Earth's course slows down by an average of 4 milliseconds.

“Astrophysicists attribute this phenomenon to the lunar attraction, which is known to affect the tides on our planet. So, when they occur, the Moon, as it were, tries to attract water to itself, moving it in the direction opposite to the course of the Earth. Due to this peculiar counteraction, an insignificant friction force arises at the bottom of the reservoirs, which, in accordance with the laws of physics, slows down the speed of the Earth. Slightly, only 4 milliseconds per year, ”Perkhnyak specified.

Movement of the Earth around the Sun

How does the earth revolve around the sun?

Our planet revolves around the Sun in an orbit with a length of more than 930 million km.

At what speed?

The Earth revolves around the Sun at a speed of 30 km / s, that is, 107,218 km / h.

How long does it take the earth to complete one revolution around the sun?

The Earth makes one complete revolution around the Sun in about 365 days. The time it takes for the Earth to completely revolve around the Sun is called a year.

In which direction does the Earth move when it circles around the Sun?

Around the Sun, the Earth rotates from west to east, as well as around its axis.

How far does the earth revolve around the sun?

The Earth revolves around the Sun at a distance of about 150 million km.

How do the seasons change?

During the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, its angle of inclination does not change. As a result, on one part of its trajectory, the Earth will be turned more towards the Sun by its lower half: the Southern Hemisphere, where summer comes. And at this time, the North Pole will be practically hidden from the sun: it means that winter is coming there. Twice a year, the Sun illuminates the Northern and Southern hemispheres approximately equally: this is the time of spring and autumn. These moments are also known as the spring and autumn equinoxes.

Why doesn't the Earth fall into the Sun?

“When the Earth revolves around the Sun, a centrifugal force is generated that tries to constantly push our planet away. But she won't be able to. And all because the Earth always moves around the star at the same speed and is at a safe distance from it, correlated with the centrifugal force with which they are trying to knock the Earth out of orbit. That is why the Earth does not fall on the Sun and does not fly away into space, but continues to move along a given trajectory,” said Alexander Perkhnyak.

Our planet is in constant motion, it revolves around the Sun and its own axis. The earth's axis is an imaginary line drawn from the North to the South Pole (they remain motionless during rotation) at an angle of 66 0 33 ꞌ with respect to the plane of the Earth. People cannot notice the moment of rotation, because all objects are moving in parallel, their speed is the same. It would look exactly the same as if we were sailing on a ship and did not notice the movement of objects and objects on it.

A full rotation around the axis is completed within one sidereal day, consisting of 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. During this interval, then one or the other side of the planet turns towards the Sun, receiving from it a different amount of heat and light. In addition, the rotation of the Earth around its axis affects its shape (flattened poles are the result of the planet's rotation around its axis) and the deviation when bodies move in a horizontal plane (rivers, currents and winds of the Southern Hemisphere deviate to the left, Northern - to the right).

Linear and angular speed of rotation

(Earth rotation)

The linear speed of the Earth's rotation around its axis is 465 m/s or 1674 km/h in the equatorial zone, as we move away from it, the speed gradually slows down, at the North and South Poles it is equal to zero. For example, for citizens of the equatorial city of Quito (the capital of Ecuador in South America), the rotation speed is just 465 m / s, and for Muscovites living on the 55th parallel north of the equator - 260 m / s (almost half as much) .

Every year, the speed of rotation around the axis decreases by 4 milliseconds, which is associated with the influence of the Moon on the strength of sea and ocean ebb and flow. The pull of the Moon "pulls" the water in the opposite direction to the Earth's axial rotation, creating a slight frictional force that slows the rotation rate by 4 milliseconds. The rate of angular rotation remains the same everywhere, its value is 15 degrees per hour.

Why does day turn into night

(The change of night and day)

The time of the complete rotation of the Earth around its axis is one sidereal day (23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds), during this time period the side illuminated by the Sun is first "in the power" of the day, the shadow side is at the mercy of the night, and then vice versa.

If the Earth rotated differently and one side of it was constantly turned towards the Sun, then there would be a high temperature (up to 100 degrees Celsius) and all the water would evaporate, on the other side frosts would rage and the water would be under a thick layer of ice. Both the first and second conditions would be unacceptable for the development of life and the existence of the human species.

Why do the seasons change

(Change of seasons on earth)

Due to the fact that the axis is inclined with respect to the earth's surface at a certain angle, its sections receive different amounts of heat and light at different times, which causes the change of seasons. According to the astronomical parameters necessary to determine the season, some points in time are taken as reference points: for summer and winter, these are the Solstice Days (June 21 and December 22), for spring and autumn, the Equinoxes (March 20 and September 23). From September to March, the Northern Hemisphere is turned towards the Sun for less time and, accordingly, receives less heat and light, hello winter-winter, the Southern Hemisphere at this time receives a lot of heat and light, long live summer! 6 months pass and the Earth moves to the opposite point of its orbit and the Northern Hemisphere already receives more heat and light, the days become longer, the Sun rises higher - summer is coming.

If the Earth were located in relation to the Sun exclusively in a vertical position, then the seasons would not exist at all, because all points on the half illuminated by the Sun would receive the same and uniform amount of heat and light.

Full rotation around its axis, i.e. 360° turn, the globe makes 4.1 seconds in 23 hours 56 minutes, i.e. approximately in ~ 24 hours, or per day. With the same period, the sunrise, its culmination, and sunset occur. For a long time, astronomers believed that the speed of the Earth's rotation was constant, but with the use of more accurate instruments, small deviations were found. Due to the friction generated by the sea tides and changes in the earth's crust, the speed of the earth's rotation is decreasing. Our day lengthens by 1/1000 of a second every 100 years. It's a tiny change, but scientists are watching it.

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