Questions tagged [earth]

Questions regarding the planet on which humans live; the third planet from the Sun.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Does the Lagrange L1 point have a 'size'?

Like in cubic kilometers, what is the size of L1 "area of influence"? being unstable I guess that size can vary?
Ghost's user avatar
  • 31
8 votes
3 answers
917 views

When did people discover that the Earth is not an ideal sphere, but a little flattened?

When did people discover that the Earth is not an ideal sphere, but a little flattened? And if you know, who was the first person to discover it?
Jii's user avatar
  • 81
2 votes
1 answer
257 views

Storm on Earth vs. storm on Jupiter?

Why is the storm on Jupiter much stronger than storms on Earth and why don't the storms on Earth get as big as Jupiter's great red spot
roblox prisonlife's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
113 views

Angle of the Sun during winter solstice

What is the angle of the Sun on the eastern horizon at 35° latitude if it is the winter solstice?
Tungolcraeft's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
609 views

What is the size of the largest asteroid orbiting the Earth, other than the Moon?

It seems odd to me that no other asteroid around the Earth is even close to the size of the Moon. Anyone have any idea about the size and orbit radius of Earth's "second moon" ?
Bragadeesh's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
370 views

Perihelion dates and parameters

I have to find the perihelion and aphelion data for the 20th century for Earth. I found this table http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/perap2001.html, but no such table for the past century. I ...
Alex Johnson's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
201 views

Are there any planets or objects orbiting in Goldilocks zone?

I was wondering whether there were any objects that orbit the "goldilocks zone" besides our home planet earth, and how the goldilocks zone of our solar system is defined.
roblox prisonlife's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
209 views

How Long Will Earth's Year be When Our Sun Goes Red?

We live in a planet that orbits 93 million miles from a G-type main-sequence star, or "yellow dwarf". That is far enough for a revolution of 365 days. Such is the case of Kepler's Third Law of ...
JohnWDailey's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
312 views

Is it possible that Venus was once a rogue planet? [closed]

As Venus rotates in clockwise direction, while other planets rotate in anti clockwise direction: Is it possible that Venus was once a rogue planet?
Karanveer Singh's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
273 views

Does the magnetic field of earth restore?

The magnetic field of earth protects us from solar wind as we know it, but after the solar wind interacts our magnetic field. Does the magnetic field of earth restore after it deflects the solar ...
roblox prisonlife's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
539 views

Can an Earth-like planet survive if our Sun went Supernova?

First, I would like to point out, yes, our sun does not have enough mass to be a candidate for Supernova, this is a scenario were our sun is though, and after the various life cycle stages of the sun ...
C. Jordan's user avatar
  • 235
7 votes
1 answer
180 views

Why do transits of Earth across the Sun seen from Mars follow a pattern of occurring after 26, 79 then 100 years?

According to this answer transits of Earth across the disk of the Sun as seen from Mars: The (Arthur C.) Clarke story is quite correct. Earth (and Moon) would transit the sun from the viewpoint of ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
1 vote
1 answer
235 views

When and where are we exposed to most cosmic radiation?

I understand the mechanical dynamics of being faced away from the Sun at night, having a lower altitude, not being in the weak points at the poles in the atmosphere, being in a valley and others ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
10 votes
3 answers
5k views

How well would the Moon protect the Earth from an Asteroid?

Would the Earth fare better if the Moon blocked the meteor, comet, rogue planet, or otherwise rather than a direct impact? At what point would the Moon's debris would be an extinction event? The ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
1 answer
661 views

Earth's perihelion vs winter solstice [duplicate]

I found that Earth's perihelion occurs roughly two weeks after winter solstice similar thing happens for summer solstice and aphelion. I understand what those terms mean but I don't understand the ...
griffins's user avatar
  • 505
10 votes
1 answer
600 views

When did the first annular eclipse happen?

A few hundreds of millions of years ago, the moon was closer to the Earth than it is today and hence was of a bigger apparent size. This made every solar eclipse either total or partial. Over the ...
Kevin Selva Prasanna's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
712 views

Could the solar system survive in a void?

If the solar system were suddenly placed in the middle of a large void... would everything still function as normal? Would we even notice any difference here on Earth apart from the night sky? ......
user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

What effect does Earth losing a part of its mass have, is there an impact on the Earth's orbit around the Sun?

This is a random question that popped into my mind. I'm not a physicist or astronomist, however, I am genuinely curious. Also, this is not intended as a science fiction question, but an actual science ...
afaf12's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
1 answer
641 views

What keeps the planets of the solar system moving in their fixed orbits?

Models of the solar system show each planet moving around on its own orbit. Is is really because of the Sun that every planets remains in its own fixed orbit?
Kelly's user avatar
  • 21
4 votes
4 answers
3k views

Origin of heavier elements on earth?

Earth is part of Solar system, which is said to have originated from condensation and mutual attraction in dense clouds of gasses and dust. If Sun is basically more than ninty percent hydrogen and ...
user637827's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
108 views

Orbital decay of the Earth's orbit and Earth's moving closer to the Sun

If we consider orbital decay of the Earth's orbit, then can we counter argue with the following reasons? Due to tidal effects transferring small amounts of angular momentum from the Sun's spin to ...
Tapi's user avatar
  • 121
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Word for blue ring around the Earth

From certain positions in outer space the Earth will appear to have a blue ring around it when the viewer is in the shadow of the Earth and sunlight is passing through the atmosphere. Here is a ...
Bob516's user avatar
  • 1,447
2 votes
3 answers
712 views

Does the sun have cycles causing temperature changes on Earth?

Can the Sun go through seasons or cycles to cause a temperature change? Could the Sun have to go through any kind of thermal cycle to change the climate on Earth and by how much?
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
0 answers
327 views

How to caclulate the chinese Three Gorges Dam impact on Earth rotation? [closed]

According to this January 2005 NASA JPL News item NASA Details Earthquake Effects on the Earth, the Three Gorges Dam has slowed down Earth's rotation by 0.06 microseconds per day. Having that weight ...
marko-36's user avatar
  • 601
2 votes
1 answer
7k views

Are these real paths of planets as traced from Earth?

Few days a go, I came across these two pictures of paths of planets as observed from Earth. They have a perfect geometric shapes. Actually, to me they look so beautiful and perfect, that they appear ...
Ubi.B's user avatar
  • 221
2 votes
4 answers
650 views

Why is the equinoxes only 2 days and not more?

The earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees which means that in the solstices the north/south hemisphere is more radiated by the sun and the tilt to the sun is maximum. In the equinoxes, the tilt is not ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 263
5 votes
2 answers
316 views

Diamonds in Neptune?

In this publication from 1981, was shown that Neptune is raining diamonds: Many of the current models of Uranus and Neptune postulate a three-layer structure, consisting of an inner rocky core, a ...
roblox prisonlife's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
148 views

Seasonal effect based on Earth position [duplicate]

I know that Earth rotates around the Sun in an oval route: And I know the seasons happen, because the axis of the Earth is not vertical. I think it is 23 degree slope. How come the distance from the ...
asmgx's user avatar
  • 109
5 votes
1 answer
220 views

Why is Earth's rotation considered fast?

I'm currently reading Atom (Krauss book), and in chapter 11 there is this text: This collision can explain many things, including the high rate of spin of the Earth (the grazing collision would ...
user11801's user avatar
  • 195
48 votes
3 answers
15k views

If Earth is tilted, why is Polaris always above the same spot?

Why is Polaris, the North Star, always above (or near) the North Pole? If Earth is tilted, Polaris' path should be in winter 23 degrees away from its path in summer, or not?
Guest55's user avatar
  • 379
1 vote
2 answers
242 views

Should the sun appear very low in the horizon if its path is always between the two tropics?

If the sun never rises above the tropic of cancer and never goes bellow (southern) of the tropic of capricorn then it seems that it should appear to the observer lower and lower in the horizon for as ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 263
2 votes
1 answer
188 views

What is the origin of the term "plane of the spirit level"?

I have heard the term "plane of the spirit level" e.g. the sun's shadows is X degrees to the plane of the spirit level to signify the surface of the earth and I see it is a common term used in ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 263
1 vote
1 answer
522 views

South of the tropics, where does the sun's noon shadow point?

If I understand correctly, in countries to the north of the tropics the sun's noon shadow points north. What happens south of the tropics? Is it pointing south?
Jim's user avatar
  • 263
9 votes
4 answers
435 views

Historical Day Lengths on Earth

I recently read something about a major earthquake in Japan having possibly shortened Earth's day due to an increase in rotation. Here's an example: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/...
PrimeNumberHobbyist's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
239 views

Why hasn't the Earth fallen into the sun yet?

So the Earth's been orbiting the sun in a relatively stable orbit for billions of years now. during that time, it's been plowing through dust, and hit by comets and asteroids, presumably mostly from ...
RonS's user avatar
  • 567
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Why is the Earth called terrestrial? Can we call the Earth an ocean planet?

Why is Earth called a terrestrial planet even though it is 70% covered by water?
roblox prisonlife's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
496 views

Did the Moon ever approximate a geosynchronous orbit above the early Earth?

Simulations suggest the early Moon formed about 20,000 to 30,000 km away from Earth which is less than the current geosynchronous orbit of 42,164 km. The Moon is now 384,000 km away from Earth. Does ...
Ivan Christiansen's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
226 views

The equation for calculating how many times Earth (or our solar system) has revolved around the Milky Way

I have seen it said on Quora and Reddit that it's about every 220-250 million years to go around the Milky Way from Earth. Wondering what the rough equation is for calculating it. That is, I guess, ...
Lance's user avatar
  • 215
1 vote
0 answers
121 views

Angle between earth's angular momentum and earth's axis

I think this picture is correct because for earth astronomical day is slightly shorter than solar day. (Is it a rule of thumb for planets? Where can I read such data?) Source So the angle between ...
ged's user avatar
  • 111
3 votes
1 answer
169 views

What will be the temperature on Earth when Sun finishes its main sequence?

We know that presently Sun is 4.5 billion years into its main sequence. It has another 5 billion years before it enters the Red Giant phase. We also know that Sun's luminosity increases by 10% every ...
sidharth chhabra's user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why are there no stars visible in cislunar space?

It’s very puzzling that the moon landing had no stars in the background, the ISS clips have no stars in the background. I listened to multiple astronaut interviews speak on what it looks like up in ...
Autodidact's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How far does the Earth travel around the Sun during each month of the year?

After reading about the Earth's orbit and how it moves faster in January than it does in July (based on its distance from the Sun), I started to wonder... How far does the Earth travel around the Sun ...
Hoytman's user avatar
  • 237
2 votes
0 answers
54 views

Why is the moon drifting? Shouldn't orbital decay bring it closer? [duplicate]

I noted that the moon drifts away from Earth a few centimeters each year. However, I'm thinking that the emission of gravitational waves would deter such thing and cause the exact opposite. ...
Max0815's user avatar
  • 1,862
17 votes
4 answers
7k views

Official degrees of earth’s rotation per day

What is the official degree to one decimal point please, of the earth’s rotation in one single day. Can it be confirmed that it is exactly 360.0 degrees using official data? Thank you in advance.
Autodidact's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
848 views

Is the moon inside earth’s atmosphere? If so, what are the consequences?

Recently, a paper was published claiming that the Earth’s atmosphere extends far beyond the Moon. This has been reported on by a number of news sources and websites, including the ESA, Business ...
Autodidact's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
407 views

Angular diameter of the Sun's reflection from the ocean, seen from Sun-Earth L1?

I'm trying to understand how smooth the reflecting ocean surface would need to be to produce such a small bright spot as seen from the DSCOVR satellite at Sun-Earth L1. It appears to be only about 8E-...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
6 votes
2 answers
224 views

Are there pictures from a solar eclipse of the earth taken from a moon landing unit or orbiter?

Did any moon landing vehicle or orbiter took pictures of a solar eclipse happening on the earth, i.e. the moon's shadow on the earth? (Alternatively from other spacecraft showing the whole globe). A ...
monok's user avatar
  • 163
2 votes
3 answers
432 views

Can Earth be ejected out of the solar system this way?

I found this image of what maybe a model of our solar system. Without a credible source I'm not sure I am looking at a star or black hole that comes close to our solar system and how it could throw ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
1 answer
559 views

What's the proportion of Mars' surface compared to Earth's surface uncovered of water?

How does Mars surface compare to Earth's surface? Mars is quite smaller than Earth, but most Earth's surface is covered with water. I thought making the math could be relatively easy but Earth isnt a ...
Pablo's user avatar
  • 1,019
3 votes
1 answer
435 views

How close to circular is the Earth's equator

Earth's orbit is about 99% circular. How circular is Earth around the equator? I know it bulges around the equator and is a spheroid. I also know it is not smooth and has oceans and mountains and all ...
jreese's user avatar
  • 33

1
3 4
5
6 7
12