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Earth's rotation axis moves with respect to the fixed stars (inertial space); the components of this motion are precession and nutation. It also moves with respect to Earth's crust; this is called polar motion. Precession is a rotation of Earth's rotation axis, caused primarily by external torques from the gravity of the Sun, Moon and other bodies.
The differences of Earth's gravity around the Antarctic continent. The surface of the Earth is rotating, so it is not an inertial frame of reference. At latitudes nearer the Equator, the outward centrifugal force produced by Earth's rotation is larger than at polar latitudes. This counteracts the Earth's gravity to a small degree – up to a ...
The force of gravity is weakest at the equator because of the centrifugal force caused by the Earth's rotation and because points on the equator are farthest from the center of the Earth. The force of gravity varies with latitude, and the resultant acceleration increases from about 9.780 m/s 2 at the Equator to about 9.832 m/s 2 at the poles ...
The spheroidal shape of the Earth is the result of the interplay between gravity and centrifugal force caused by the Earth's rotation about its axis. [18] [19] In his Principia, Newton proposed the equilibrium shape of a homogeneous rotating Earth was a rotational ellipsoid with a flattening f given by 1/230.
Newton's law of gravitation resembles Coulomb's law of electrical forces, which is used to calculate the magnitude of the electrical force arising between two charged bodies. Both are inverse-square laws, where force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the bodies. Coulomb's law has charge in place of mass and a ...
The stars viewed from Earth are seen to proceed from east to west daily (at about 15 degrees per hour), due to the Earth's diurnal motion, and yearly (at about 1 degree per day), due to the Earth's revolution around the Sun. At the same time the stars can be observed to anticipate slightly such motion, at the rate of approximately 50 arc ...
Somewhat similarly, the friction of ocean tides from the moon’s gravitational pull slows the Earth’s rotation. Historically, that has had the largest influence on the planet’s rate of spin ...
At a fixed point on the surface, the magnitude of Earth's gravity results from combined effect of gravitation and the centrifugal force from Earth's rotation. [2] [3] At different points on Earth's surface, the free fall acceleration ranges from 9.764 to 9.834 m/s 2 (32.03 to 32.26 ft/s 2), [4] depending on altitude, latitude, and longitude.