Understanding Rotation

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01. The Central Axis

Imagine a giant needle passing through the Earth from top to bottom. This is the Axis. Earth doesn't sit straight up; it leans at an angle of 23.5 degrees.

Why the tilt?

Scientists believe a massive object called Theia crashed into Earth billions of years ago, knocking our planet sideways and actually creating our Moon!

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North Pole
South Pole

02. The Solar Cycle

Because the Earth is a sphere, the Sun can only light up half of it at a time. As we rotate from West to East, we move in and out of this sunlight.

Fact: A "Solar Day" is exactly 24 hours, but a "Sidereal Day" (one true spin) is actually 23 hours and 56 minutes!
DAY
NIGHT

03. Global Time Zones

Since Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, it moves 15 degrees every hour. This is why when it is morning in Addis Ababa, it might still be night in New York!

6:00 AM
12:00 PM
6:00 PM