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What is the precession of the Earth?

Updated: 8/10/2023
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15y ago

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Precession refers to a change in the direction of the earth's axis, and it can also refer to some changes in orbital orientation as well. For example, the earth reaches December solstice only a few days before it reaches perihelion (its closest approach to the sun). Some people may incorrectly believe that these events are the same thing, or that they always happen at exactly the same time. It is in fact coincidental that they are so close in time. Perihelion is at one end of our orbit's eliptical axis (completely different from our rotational axis, the poles). This orbital axis is actually moving very slowly (it is precessing) so that solstice and perihelion are moving farther apart over time. In thousands of years, the north's December solstice will coincide with aphelion, the earth's farthest approach to the sun.

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15y ago
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9y ago

It is the very slow shift in the Earth's north-south axis round which it rotates daily. The axis seems fixed but it behaves like a spinning top as it runs down - you can see the top rotating quickly as it spins, while the axis also moves slowly in a circle.

The Earth's precession takes the axis round in a circle once in 25,000 years, which is an angular change of 52" per year.

The practical effect is extremely small, but it does mean that star charts have to be redrawn every 50 or 100 years. This is because the fundamental direction in space, used for charts, is the intersection of two fundamental planes - the Earth's equatorial plane and the plane of the Earth's orbit, called the ecliptic. The intersection is called the First Point of Aries and it is the direction of the Sun as it crosses the equator at the vernal equinox (March 20).

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15y ago

It gets reversed. The torque applied is equivalent to the cross product of the resulting angular precession frequencey and the angular momentum of whatever is spinning.

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12y ago

Presion deals with the advancement of measuring instrument while accuracy deals with the percinal skills

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8y ago

It is Earth wobbling like a spinning top as it goes round the Sun. The wobble takes about 25 thousand years to complete so it is very slow.

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Q: What is the precession of the Earth?
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Related questions

How the Earth's precession differ from the Earth's rotation?

Precession refers to a gradual change in the direction of Earth's axis of rotation.


Which is thought to be most responsible for earths ice ages?

Earth's precession


What is the earth movement but it takes 26000 years what would it is called?

Precession, which in this case refers to a movement of Earth's axis. A full "turn" takes about 26,000 years.


What is preccession?

A Precession is the changing direction of earth's axis


which best describes precession ?

Earth's axis wobbles.


Are seasons caused by the precession of Earth's axis?

Yes they are.


What is thought to have caused the ice ages?

Earth's Precession


What is the term for the way tat earth wobbles around its rotation axis?

The Earth doesn't wobble around its rotation axis. The rotation axis itself rotates,so that the Earth's poles trace around a 23.5-degree circle in the sky, every 26,000years. The term that describes it is "precession".The Earth doesn't wobble around its rotation axis. The rotation axis itself rotates,so that the Earth's poles trace around a 23.5-degree circle in the sky, every 26,000years. The term that describes it is "precession".The Earth doesn't wobble around its rotation axis. The rotation axis itself rotates,so that the Earth's poles trace around a 23.5-degree circle in the sky, every 26,000years. The term that describes it is "precession".


Which motions refers to Earth's spinning on it's axis?

Precession of the equinox.


What cause Earth's precession?

A slow westward shift of the equinoxes.


What is the Earth's movement that takes about 26000 years is called?

Precession


Over time the moon's gravity will drastically alter Earth's Similarly precession will eventually alter Earth's?

Over time the moon's gravity will drastically alter Earth's pole star similarly precession will eventually alter Earth's rate of rotation.