As a student, do some questions bother your young mind? Like, how is it that there is brightness with sun overhead in one part of the day and darkness with moon and stars overhead in the other? Why do seasons change, and what is the reason behind the change of year every 365 days. Science tends to answer all these questions with correct facts. In this guide, you’ll read about the two main processes that make the Earth change seasons and days. These two processes are rotation and revolution.
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Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere in Percentage
What is Rotation and Revolution of Earth
Rotation is the process of the spinning of the earth around its axis. In this case, the axis has an angle of 23 and a half degrees, which is also perpendicular to the plane of the earth’s orbit. This is the reason why the earth is tilted on its axis, and thus the northern and southern hemispheres lean in a direction away from the sun. Hence, the rotation of the earth divides its region as half light and half dark, which gives rise to day and night.
While the revolution of earth is its movement around the sun in a fixed path; the earth revolves from west to east in an anticlockwise direction. The change of years is because the earth revolves around the sun in a year. More so, the revolution speed of the earth around the sun is 30 km/s-1.
Rotation and Revolution of Other Planets
| Planets | Mean distance from the Sun in millions of kilometres | Period of Revolution | Period of Rotation |
| Mercury | 57.9 | 88 days | 59 days |
| Venus | 108.2 | 224.7 days | 243 days |
| Earth | 149.6 | 365.2 days | 23 hr, 56 min, 4 sec |
| Mars | 227.9 | 687 days | 24 hr, 37 min |
| Jupiter | 778.3 | 11.86 years | 9 hr, 55 min, 30 sec |
| Saturn | 1,427 | 29.46 years | 10 hr, 40 min, 24 sec |
| Uranus | 2,870 | 84 years | 16.8 hours |
| Neptune | 4,497 | 165 years | 16 hr, 11 min |
Rotation vs. Revolution of Earth
| Rotation | Revolution |
| Rotation is a circular movement of an object around a centre of rotation. | Revolution is the movement of one body around another body. |
| Period of rotation of Earth is 23hr, 56 min, 4 sec. | Period of revolution of Earth is 365.2 days. |
| The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted by 23.5 degrees. | The path of revolution of the Earth around the sun is called an orbit. |
| The rotational tilt of the Earth causes seasons of the year. | The change of year takes place due to revolution. |
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