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The rotational axis of Earth, for example, is the imaginary line that passes through both the North Pole and South Pole, whereas the Earth's orbital axis is the line perpendicular to the imaginary plane through which the Earth moves as it revolves around the Sun; the Earth's obliquity or axial tilt is the angle between these two lines.
The angle of the Earth's axial tilt with respect to the orbital plane (the obliquity of the ecliptic) varies between 22.1° and 24.5°, over a cycle of about 41,000 years. The current tilt is 23.44°, roughly halfway between its extreme values.
The images at right attempt to explain the relation between the precession of the Earth's axis and the shift in the equinoxes. These images show the position of the Earth's axis on the celestial sphere, a fictitious sphere which places the stars according to their position as seen from Earth, regardless of their actual distance. The first image ...
The latitude of the polar circles is + or −90 degrees (which refers to the North and South Pole, respectively) minus the axial tilt (that is, of the Earth's axis of daily rotation relative to the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth's orbit). This predominant, average tilt of the Earth varies slightly, a phenomenon described as nutation.
Orbital forcing is the effect on climate of slow changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis and shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun (see Milankovitch cycles).These orbital changes modify the total amount of sunlight reaching the Earth by up to 25% at mid-latitudes (from 400 to 500 W/(m 2) at latitudes of 60 degrees).
The Earth's tilt is the reason for the seasons, stated NASA. So spring, summer, winter and fall would not exist without it. "Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun's most ...
This dual phenomenon occurs because the Earth rotates on a tilted axis. Twice a year, the sun's path reaches its northernmost or southernmost point, creating solstices that mark the transition ...
Earth's axial tilt causing different angles of seasonal illumination at different orbital positions around the Sun. The axial tilt of Earth is approximately 23.439281° [2] with the axis of its orbit plane, always pointing towards the Celestial Poles. Due to Earth's axial tilt, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface ...