EARTH’S MOVEMENT

AROUND THE SUN

The Earth rotates about an imaginary line that passes through the
North and South Poles of the planet
The Earth could then be imagined like a spinning top, or trumpo ,
turning and wobbling in its path about the sun.
 ELEMENTS IN THIS INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SUN
AND THE EARTH:
1. APHELION- refers to the 4. PRECESSION- the change of
point in the orbit of the the orientation of the
Earth farthest from the sun. rotational axis of the Earth.

2. PERIHELION- the point 5. EQUINOX- the time the sun

in the orbit of the Earth at noon is directly over the
closest to the sun equator. It happens twice a
year and causes an almost
3. EARTH AXIAL TILT- the equal length of day and night
inclination angle of the
Earth’s rotational axis of the
Earth.
6. SOLSTICE- happens when the sun at
noon sits above the Tropic of Cancer
or Tropic of Capricorn.
-The summer solstice has the
longest period of daylight in the year
and the winter solstice has the
shortest period.

7. PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES- the

motion of the equinoxes relative to the
precession of the Earth’s axis of rotation. It
happen over thousand years.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE 21ST CENTURY MAY INTRODUCE YET
ANOTHER DRAMATIC CHANGES IN CLIMATE?
MILANKOVITCH PARAMETERS

There is growing body of data suggesting that

the climate, not just the local day-to-day
weather, is changing all over thee world.

This concern raises the question as to what

causes such dramatic changes in the day-to-day
weather and climate.
 It was addressed as early as the 1930s by
Slovak scientist and meteorologist Milutin
Milankovitch.

 Do weather and climate come ultimately from the

sun so that it is the sun and its relation to the earth
that accounts for the change in the climate?

 Is it possible that as the distance of the sun to the

Earth changes, the Earth is affected enough to cause
climate to change?
Nevertheless, the mathematical expression of the Laws of
Nature as first enunciated by Isaac Newton in the 17th
century have some subtle features that might help explain
the role of Milankovitch parameters in changing climate.

Milankovitch studied whether or not the direct amount of

sunlight falling on the Earth was the cause of the Ice Age. He
reasoned that over thousand of years, the relative position of
the Earth and sun changes, causing variations in the solar
radiation reaching the Earth over thousands of years.