FREE ESSAY ON HOW THE EATH ROTATES

HOW THE EATH ROTATES

The Earth's Rotation 
The Earth is rotating around an axis (called its rotational axis). Some objects rotate
about a horizontal axis, like a rolling log. Some objects, such as a skater, rotate about
a vertical axis. The Earth's axis is tipped over about 23.5? from vertical. 
How do we define up and down in space? What would vertical mean? For the Earth, we can
think of vertical as straight up and down with respect to the plane in which the Earth
orbits the Sun (called the ecliptic). 
Earth's rotational axis always points in the same direction, so that the North Pole
points towards the star Polaris. Think of the Earth as a spinning top, tipped over to one
side. 
The Earth rotates around once in 24 hours - that's a rate of 1000 miles per hour!. The
time it takes for the Earth to rotate completely around once is what we call a day. It's
Earth's rotation that gives us night and day. 
The combined effect of the Earth's tilt and its orbital motion result in the seasons. 
Bibliography
Science News March 1995
Astonomers weekly 1998