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Article
Earth rotation and orbital motion
Article By:
Pasachoff, Jay M. Hopkins Observatory, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Last reviewed:February 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.209400
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- Earth rotation and orbital motion, published November 2019:Download PDF
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The spinning of the Earth upon its planetary axis and movement of the Earth around the Sun. While appearing constant, the Earth's rate of rotation, where one complete rotation is measured as a day, and the rate of the Earth orbital motion around the Sun (Fig. 1), where one complete revolution is measured as a year, are actually variable and significantly so over large spans of time. These variances in motion arise because the Earth is not truly a rigid, symmetric body and because it interacts with other members of the solar system gravitationally. See also: Earth; Orbital motion; Planet; Solar system; Sun
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