Earth · physics · space
About Earth
Short 3D animations about why things on Earth and in the sky work the way they do. You can play each one, pause it and jump through its chapters.
- axial tilt 23.4°
- rotation 23 h 56 min
- orbit 365.26 days
- radius 6,371 km
Topics
In the northern and southern hemispheres, plenty of things work the opposite way.
Why does the Sun move clockwise in the north?
The apparent path of the Sun over Prague and Cape Town, from the point of view of a person on the ground and from above.
Why do hurricanes spin the opposite way?
Low pressure, the Coriolis force and why hurricanes almost never form near the equator.
Why is it summer in the south when it is winter in the north?
The tilt of the Earth's axis, the angle of the Sun's rays and day length through the whole year.
Why do the oceans circle the other way?
Great ocean gyres, trade winds and westerlies, and why oceans turn the opposite way to hurricanes.
Why does the southern sky need a different celestial pole?
Polaris, the Southern Cross and a night sky that turns in opposite directions in the north and the south.