What Does Translation of the Earth Mean
We explain what the translation of the Earth is and the consequences of this movement. The speed it reaches and the rotation of the Earth.
What is the translation of the Earth?
The translation of the Earth is one of the movements the planet and is to turn around the sun . It takes 365 days and 6 hours to complete the journey. Every four years, those hours are added together and give a total of 24 hours. That is the reason why, every four years, we have a leap year in our calendar, in which the month of February has one more day.
The translational motion occurs in Earth's orbit and reaches a distance of 930 million kilometers . Although the average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 150 million kilometers, the ellipse or oval orbit means that, in some sections, the Earth is closer to the Sun and in others, further away. These distances cause climatic differences on the planet that give rise to the seasons of the year.
See also: Ozone layer
Consequences of the translational movement
The two main consequences of the translational motion of the Earth are:
- The succession of the seasons of the year. The Sun's energy heats the planet's surface with different intensity, depending on the tilt of the Earth's axis. Therefore, during the translational movement, when Earth is farther from the star light rays impact directly and with greater intensity of energy. On the other hand, when the Earth is close to the Sun the rays are projected in a curve, which causes a loss in the intensity of the energy. These variations produce different temperatures that give rise to the four seasons of the year:
- Spring. The season begins with the vernal equinox , between March 20 and 21 in the northern hemisphere, and between September 22 and 23 in the southern hemisphere.
- Summer. It is the hottest season and begins with the summer solstice , June 21 in the northern hemisphere and December 21 in the southern hemisphere.
- Fall. It begins in the northern hemisphere with the autumnal equinox, around September 23 in the northern hemisphere and on March 21 in the southern hemisphere.
- Winter. It is the coldest season that begins with the winter solstice, between December 20 and 23 for the northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 for the southern hemisphere.
In the regions of the equator, the climate is tropical throughout the year because the sun's rays are projected directly, without too many alterations. There are only two seasons that are differentiated by the intensity of the rains: the dry season and the rainy season.
- The duration of the day and night. Although the movement of the Earth's rotation produces day and night, it is the translational movement of the Earth that determines that the days are longer and the nights shorter or vice versa, depending on the season of the year (that is, , of the distance the planet is from the Sun).
Translation velocity of the Earth
Because the Earth moves on its orbit which is elliptical, the speed of the translational movement is not constant, it has a slight variation. The approximate travel speed is estimated to be 107,000 kilometers per hour . We do not feel it due to the force of gravity of the Earth, which attracts like a magnet to everything that is on the Earth's surface .
Rotation of the Earth
Rotational motion occurs when a body, like planet Earth, rotates on its own axis, which remains fixed . On the other hand, the translational movement is the movement that a celestial body makes when it rotates in its orbit around the Sun.
The axis of the Earth is an imaginary line that is not straight but has an angle of inclination of 24 ° with respect to the Earth's orbit . This inclination causes the sun's rays to impact with different intensity in the northern hemisphere compared to the southern hemisphere.
More in: Rotation of the Earth