Resh Posted October 26, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Hey everyone. Ive heard the earth is tilted. If so, when did it first tilt? has it always been tilted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantisRises Posted October 26, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Few weeks ago. Scientists are worried that if it continues in this fashion we will fall off. Surf life savers are worried that if it tilts anymore that they will have to drive further to get to the beach, 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanity Posted October 26, 2013 #3 Share Posted October 26, 2013 dude are you trolling? seriously This was my thought on this thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted October 26, 2013 #4 Share Posted October 26, 2013 I read that one of the reasons the earth tilts might be is the distribution of mass. i.e continents and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarMountainKid Posted October 26, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Maybe this is why I feel more and more off balance as I've grown older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likely Guy Posted October 27, 2013 #6 Share Posted October 27, 2013 You've 'heard' that the earth is tilted? That's why we have seasons. So yeah, since we've always had seasons, the earth has always been tilted. Factoid: Earth's axis is tilted about 23 1/2 degrees while Uranus' axial tilt is 97.77 degrees. That means that Uranus doesn't spin like the rest of the planets, it actually rolls along the plane of the solar system during its orbit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplybill Posted October 27, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Read "Earth in Upheaval" by Immanuel Velikovsky, and then quote a few passages from the book. You may not learn a lot of sound science, but this forum will light up like a Christmas tree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likely Guy Posted October 27, 2013 #8 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Read "Earth in Upheaval" by Immanuel Velikovsky, and then quote a few passages from the book. You may not learn a lot of sound science, but this forum will light up like a Christmas tree. In my opinion, it was fanciful thinking. No harm in that, but nothing to believe in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setton Posted October 27, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 27, 2013 I read that one of the reasons the earth tilts might be is the distribution of mass. i.e continents and so on. That wouldn't work. Gravity pulls towards the centre of the earth so distribution of mass would not change the tilt. In truth, no one knows for sure why the axis is tilted (maybe an early impact just after formation) but it varies on a 41,000 year timescale and is the reason we can live on this planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Crane Feather Posted October 30, 2013 #10 Share Posted October 30, 2013 It probably happened when the earth collided with a Proto planet. The same event probably also set the stage for the formation of the moon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesspy Posted October 30, 2013 #11 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Maybe if we get everyone to the side of the tilt and push the ground we could straighten the planet up. LOL sorry. When I was young my friends dad said the earth was tilted but if we push the ground hard we can straighten it up. He was also one of those guys that spun a globe to make us dizzy. lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted October 30, 2013 #12 Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Hey everyone. Ive heard the earth is tilted. If so, when did it first tilt? has it always been tilted? Because space has no 'direction', and so no 'up' or 'down', we can only consider the attitude of our planet with respect to something which might define a 'direction'. In this case, we use the solar system, and refer to planetary attitudes with respect the plane of their orbit around the sun. In Earth's case we call this the plane of the ecliptic (or just 'ecliptic'), taken from the sun through the orbit of Earth around it. While our planet orbits in this plane it also rotates around an axis (with a little wobble), and this axis of rotation is the tilt of Earth to the ecliptic. This axial tilt is ~23.5 degrees from the vertical. As to why our planet has a tilt, there are various theories including the distribution of mass when our planet was being formed, through to several 'collision' theories. There is a theory our planet had a greater (~45 degree) tilt in the distant past and some event - mooted to be a collision - altered that to it's present value. Most of the theories for Earth's axial tilt are detailed on the internet, and my suggestion is you research them a bit more there if you wish to understand them in greater detail. Edited October 30, 2013 by Leonardo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted October 30, 2013 #13 Share Posted October 30, 2013 It probably happened when the earth collided with a Proto planet. The same event probably also set the stage for the formation of the moon. It may be an event of a collision in an ocean about 600 million years ago for with there is rudimentary evidence and may have been an element leading to conditions that brought on the Cambrian Explosion of multi-cellular life forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted November 1, 2013 #14 Share Posted November 1, 2013 That wouldn't work. Gravity pulls towards the centre of the earth so distribution of mass would not change the tilt. In truth, no one knows for sure why the axis is tilted (maybe an early impact just after formation) but it varies on a 41,000 year timescale and is the reason we can live on this planet. I don't know...the earth is not a solid object in that it has layers and the outside is literally "floating" on a liquid. (crust floats on the mantle which is comprised of magma) So if there is a large enough shift in the distribution of mass, wouldn't that affect the planet's equilibrium? And if there is no gravity in space then why should any planet have any degree of tilt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setton Posted November 1, 2013 #15 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I don't know...the earth is not a solid object in that it has layers and the outside is literally "floating" on a liquid. (crust floats on the mantle which is comprised of magma) So if there is a large enough shift in the distribution of mass, wouldn't that affect the planet's equilibrium? And if there is no gravity in space then why should any planet have any degree of tilt? Not really. But that's a common misconception. The mantle is not liquid, it's only partially (and quite a small part) molten. The only liquid part of the Earth is the outer core. More mass wouldn't tilt a planet as the force is towards it's core not 'downwards'. Who ever said there was no gravity in space??? Gravity affects things over an infinite distance but by a decreasing amount (the equation is F = (GM1M2)/r2 if you're interested) but always towards the centre of the two objects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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