• What is the rotation of the Earth?
• Consequences of rotational movement
• Earth's rotation speed
• Translation of the Earth

We explain what the Earth's rotation is and what its consequences are. The speed it reaches and the translation of the Earth.

The Earth's rotational movement takes 24 hours to make the complete turn.

What is the rotation of the Earth?

The rotation of the Earth is the movement that the planet makes when it rotates on its own axis, that is, on itself. This axis consists of an imaginary line that crosses the geographic poles and that has an inclination of 24 ° with respect to the orbit of the Earth.

The movement The Earth's rotation takes 24 hours to make the full turn, at a speed of 1,700 kilometers per hour if measured at the equator. We do not feel the movement because it is carried out constantly and because we move at the same speed with the Earth, that is, we are part of the same earth movement system. If the speed of the movement were not constant, we would feel it due to theinertia.

Consequences of rotational movement

The constant rotational motion is responsible for flattening the Earth's axis.

The rotation of the Earth generates consequences at a geographical, climatic, terrestrial and physical level. The main ones are:

• The succession of day and night. The Sun it illuminates only one half of the planet, which determines that it is day, while the opposite side remains dark, generating night. As the planet rotates on its own axis, the face that was dark begins to receive light and the other half becomes dark.
• Time differences. The system of time zones It consists of a division of the day into hours for the entire planet, and its starting point or reference point is the zero meridian orGreenwich Meridian. That is why sunrise and sunset in the eastern hemisphere earlier than in the western hemisphere.
• The variation of temperature. The succession of day and night means that, during the day, the illuminated side of the planet receives a greater amount of solar radiation. That Energy accumulates and generates an increase intemperature. During the night, that face does not receive solar radiation and the temperature decreases.
• The shape of the Earth. If the Earth were still, you could appreciate its sphere shape, that is, round. As the rotational movement is constant, a centrifugal force is generated responsible for flattening the area of ​​the poles or the axis of the Earth and widening the area of ​​the equator. Because of the rotational motion, the planet is shaped like an ellipse or geoid.
• The Cardinal points. As the planet rotates from west to east and the Sun is at a fixed point, from Earth it can be seen to appear in the east at sunrise and set to the west at sunset. East fact useful for locatingCardinal points if you do not have a compass.
• The magnetic field of the Earth. The rotational movement generates a magnetic field or energy that protects the Earth from solar radiation through the atmosphere (layer composed of gases and that surrounds the Earth). While the planet and living beings they need the light and the heat of the Sun, some of its rays are harmful. This magnetic field causes a current of particles in the atmosphere that blocks them and does not allow them to reach the earth's surface.

Earth's rotation speed

The speed of the Earth's rotation varies depending on the area of ​​the planet where it is calculated. From the equator, that is, the imaginary line that marks the maximum circumference of the Earth, the journey is 1,700 km per hour.

As you move away from the equator toward the poles, the speed is slower. For example, at the point 45 ° north latitude, the rotation speed is 1,000 km per hour. Over the poles, where the imaginary axis passes, the speed is zero or 0 km per hour.

Translation of the Earth

Our planet takes 365 days and 6 hours to complete this translation path.

The translational movement occurs between two celestial bodies when the first makes a turn in its orbit around the second. In the case of the Earth, it consists of going around the Sun. Our planet takes 365 days and 6 hours to complete this translation path.

When the translational motion of the Earth interacts with the rotational motion, phenomena such as the succession of the seasons of the year, and the length of day and night, occur.

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