he rotation of the Earth about its axis is demonstrated by the classical Foucault pendulum experiment.

Its revolution in its orbit

around the Sun is shown by (1) the annual parallactic displacement of relatively nearby stars against the background of more
distant stars, and (2) the aberration of light, causing an apparent annual displacement of all stars on the celestial sphere. However,
because the Earth is not truly a rigid symmetric body and because it interacts with other members of the solar system
gravitationally, these motions vary with time. See also Aberration (astronomy); Foucault pendulum; Orbital motion; Parallax
(astronomy).
Rotation of the Earth
Until recent times the rotation of the Earth has served as the basis for timekeeping. The assumption was made that the rotational
speed of the Earth was essentially constant and repeatable, and that the length of the day which resulted from this constant
rotational speed was naturally useful as a measure of the passage of time. Astronomical observations, however, have shown that
the speed with which the Earth is rotating is not constant with time. The variations in rotational speed may be classified into three
types: secular, irregular, and periodic. The secular variation of the rotational speed refers to the apparently linear increase in the
length of the day due chiefly to tidal friction. This effect causes slowing of the Earth's rotational speed and lengthening of the day
by about 0.0005 to 0.0035 s per century.
The irregular changes in speed have caused the length of the day to vary by as much as 0.01 s over the past 200 years. Irregular
changes consist of so-called decade fluctuations with characteristic periods of 5–10 years as well as variations that occur at
shorter time scales. The decade fluctuations are apparently related to processes occurring within the Earth. The higher-frequency
variations are now known to be largely related to the changes in the total angular momentum of the atmosphere. See also
Atmospheric general circulation.
Periodic variations are associated with periodically repeatable physical processes affecting the Earth. Tides raised in the solid
Earth by the Moon and the Sun produce periodic variations in the length of the day of the order of 0.0005 s with periods of 1

year, year, 27.55 days, and 13.66 days. Seasonal changes in global weather patterns occurring with approximately annual and
semiannual periods also cause variations in the length of the day of this order. See also Earth tides.
Revolution about the Sun
The motion of the Earth about the Sun is seen as an apparent annual motion of the Sun along the ecliptic. A large number of
astronomical observations of the positions of the Sun and other solar system objects have been made and are being made
continuously. This information is required to determine the nature of the motion of the Earth about the Sun. Observations are
analyzed using the mathematical methods of celestial mechanics to provide improved estimates of the motions of the solar system
objects in the future and to describe the past motions of the objects. The description of the apparent motion of the Sun in the sky
provides the determination of the orbit of the Earth. See also Celestial mechanics.
The true period of the revolution of the Earth around the Sun is determined by the time interval between successive returns of the
Sun to the direction of the same star. This interval is the sidereal year of 365 days 6 h 9 min 9.51 s of mean solar time or
365.25636 mean solar days. The period between successive returns to the moving vernal equinox is known as the tropical year of
365 days 5 h 48 min 45.2 s or 365.24219 days. The length of the tropical year is regarded as the length of the year in common
usage for calendars. The period of time between successive passages at perihelion (the closest approach of the Earth to the Sun) is
called the anomalistic year of 365 days 6 h 13 min 53.26 s or 365.25964 days. The lengths of the years listed above are given for
the year 2000. These values vary slowly as a consequence of the long-period perturbations of the Earth's orbit by other planets.
See also Calendar; Perturbation (astronomy).
The mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, or the semimajor axis of the Earth's orbit, was the original definition of the
astronomical unit (AU) of distance in the solar system. Its absolute value fixes the scale of the solar system and the whole
universe in terms of terrestrial standards of length. The distance between the Earth and the Sun can be determined by a variety of
methods. The most precise method relies on measurement of the travel time of electromagnetic signals reflected from objects in
the solar system or received from artificial interplanetary probes. The currently adopted value of the astronomical unit is
1.495978706 × 1011 m (92,955,807 mi). See also Astronomical unit.
The eccentricity of the Earth's orbit can be accurately determined from the variable speed of the Sun's apparent motion along the
ecliptic and the laws of elliptic motion. The adopted value of the eccentricity is 0.0167086171540.
The fact that the Equator of the Earth is inclined in space by about 23.5° to the orbital plane of the Earth (the ecliptic) causes the
Northern Hemisphere to be exposed to the more direct rays of the Sun during part of the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The
Southern Hemisphere receives the more direct rays 6 months, or a half revolution, later. This effect causes the seasons. See also
Seasons.
Other motions
In addition to the rotation of the Earth and its orbital motion about the Sun, the Earth experiences various small motions about its
center of mass. Precession and nutation are examples, and these are caused by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on
the nonspherical Earth. See also Nutation (astronomy and mechanics); Precession of equinoxes.
Because the axis of symmetry of the Earth is not aligned precisely with the axis of rotation, the Earth also executes a motion
about its center of mass known as polar motion. This motion, caused by geophysical and meteorological effects on and within the
Earth, is not predictable with accuracy, and must be observed continuously to provide the most precise information on the
orientation of the Earth. Polar motion is characterized mainly by an approximately 435-day and a 365-day periodic circular
motion of the axis of rotation on the surface of the Earth. The radius of the circular motion is of the order of 16 ft (5 m), but this
may vary. See also Earth; Planet; Planetary physics.

One of the first things Newton's equation of motion F=ma leads to is how far (h) a body falls in time t when a is constant,
namely one-half gee tee-squared (h=�gt2) where gee (g) is the local acceleration of gravity, about 9.8 metres per second per
second (g=9.8ms-2). So in the first second a freely falling body falls about 4.9 metres and is moving 9.8 ms-1.
Now let us find a critical horizontal velocity vc sucn that in one second a body travelling with speed vc will move a distance x
such that the earth's surface will fall 4.9 meters, the same distance the body will fall:
On our spherical world if your eyes are at a height h above the surface (h is -say- 4.9 metre) you can see the surface out to a
distance x, the horizon distance or "dip". Pythagoras could work this out, just solve the right triangle whose sides are Earth's
radius R=6378000m and horizon distance x and whose hypotenuse is (R+h) vis

Pythagorean theorem R2+x2=(R+h)2

algebraic expansion of (R+h)2 R2+x2=R2+2Rh+h2

subtract R2 from both sides x2=h2+2Rh

Now for the trick. Ignore h2 since 2Rh is much greater than h2 (2Rh>>h2) leaving
x2=2Rh.
If a body has a horizontal speed of x metres per second then both it and the surface will fall a distance h, the body is in circular
orbit! Substituting 4.9 for h and 6378000 for R we find x=7900 so if the horizontal velocity is 7900 metres per second it is in
orbit. Remember: near earth orbital velocity is 7.9 km/s.
Now we can get a general formula by substituting �gt2 for h, x2=2R(�gt2), or, simply, circular velocity squared vc2=(x/t)2=gR.
The acceleration of gravity sometimes called little g (g) follows immediately from Newton's law of gravitation, g=F/m=GM/R2
so we can write down the general formula for circular orbital velocity vc2=(x/t)2=gR=GM/R. That is,
vc=(GM/R)�.
Big G=6.672 times 10 to the negative eleventh power, G=6.672x10-11. The Earth's mass is 5.977x1024kg so at the surface we get
vc=(6.672x10-11x5.977x1024/6378000)�=7907ms-1. Just like we just showed, but now from "first principles".
We see the circular orbital speed falls as 1/distance�. For near Earth orbits, if we measure distances A in Earth radii, the circular
orbital speed is just vc=7.907A-�km/s.
How long does it take a satellite to orbit the earth? time=distance/rate=40000/7.9=5063s or about 84 minutes. As an exercise, do
an accurate calculation for a satellite 200 km above the Earth's surface (R=6578000m).
The Moon is Rm=3.844x108m from the earth and has an orbital velocity of 2π Rm (the circumference of the Moon's orbit) divided
by 27.32x86400 (the time in seconds for one orbit) or v=1023ms-1. The value predicted by our (Newton's) formula is...the same!
The square of the orbital velocity goes as the reciprocal of the orbital distance, which observation verifies Newton's inverse
square law. Copernicus and Kepler and Galileo would have recognized this fact.
Say, what if we set vc=c, the speed of light? Then we could solve for Rc=GM/c2. This is the "photon circle", a distance at which
light itself is in orbit! Note that all of the mass M must be inside the photon circle for this to work, a situation never found in the
solar system.

Earth's mean orbital speed

 - Earth's mean orbital speed is the average speed at which the Earth revolves around the
sun. This is defined in two different ways, based on the sidereal year and the tropical year.
The sidereal year is the time it takes for the Earth to revolve once around the sun with respect to
the distant stars. This is approximately 365.2564 mean solar days, or 3.155815 x 107 seconds (s).
The tropical year is the time it takes for the Earth to revolve once around the sun, as measured
between two consecutive March equinoxes. This is about 365.2422 mean solar days, or 3.155693
x 107 s.
The circumference of the Earth's orbit is approximately 2 pi (6.283185) times the mean radius of
its orbit. This radius is also known as the astronomical unit (AU), and is about 1.4959787 x 1011
meters (m). Therefore, the circumference is about 9.399511 x 1011 m. The Earth's mean orbital
speed, in meters per second (m/s), is obtained by dividing this number by the length of the year
in seconds. This can result in either of two figures.
Let vs be the Earth's mean orbital speed as defined based on the sidereal year. This speed is:
vs = (9.399511 x 1011) / (3.155815 x 107)
= 2.978473 x 104 m/s
Let vt be the Earth's mean orbital speed as defined based on the tropical year. This is:
vt = (9.399511 x 1011) / (3.155693 x 107)
= 2.978589 x 104 m/s
A rough, general figure for the Earth's mean orbital speed is 30 kilometers per second (km/s), or
18½ miles per second (mi/s).
Also see the Table of Physical Units and Constants.
LAST UPDATED: 08 Sep 2002

Kepler's work
Kepler was the eldest child of a poor family. He attended a pauper's school and won a
scholarship to study religion at the University at Tubingen. Though talented in mathematics, he
first gained fame as an astrologer when, in 1595 CE, some of his weather predictions came to
pass. (Most, however, did not.) He became an adherent of the Copernican theory of the solar
system, and attempted to explain the motions of the planets using the five regular solids (cube,
tetrahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron and octahedron).
He continued to try various theories to explain the motions of the planets, including numerology
and music. He published several books both describing his own work and supporting the work of
others (most notably, Galileo). He sent copies of his works to Galileo and Tycho Brahe; in 1600
CE, Tycho asked Kepler to join him in Prague even though Tycho was a supporter of a modified
form of the Ptolemaic theory. Unfortunately, Tycho died the year after Kepler arrived, and his
family sued to recover both his notes and his instruments from Kepler. After a protracted legal
battle, Kepler returned the instruments, but not the notes. Based on the data gathered by Tycho
Brahe, Kepler was able to derive his Three Laws of Orbital Motion:
1. The orbits of the planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus
2. A line from the planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of
time
3. A planet's orbital period squared is proportional to its average distance from
the the Sun cubed