Category Kids Queries

Earth’s atmosphere not only provides the right mix of breathable air for animals and plants, but it – combined with an oxygen-rich ozone layer and the planet’s electromagnetic field – also acts as a force field against solar radiation and deadly space debris. The solar system’s other planets are typically too hot or too cold to support liquid water, but Earth is just right. Oceans cover nearly 70 percent of the planet’s surface and are a source of the water vapor responsible for our weather.

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It’s a fact confirmed by cartoons and travel shows: Flush a toilet in England and the water swirls counterclockwise; flush one in Australia and it empties clockwise. The reason? The Earth’s rotation experts a spinning force – called the Coriolis Effect – on the draining water, and this force works in opposite directions on either side of the Equator. Flush your toilet to see the Coriolis Effect in full effect. Neat, huh?

There’s just one problem: The Earth’s rotation has nothing to do with the direction of draining toilet water. Hidden jets under the rim of the toilet determine which way the water drains, and that direction varies by manufacture rather than by hemisphere. While the Coriolis Effect affects the spin of large-scale phenomena such as hurricanes, the planet’s rotation is much too slow to affect your flush.

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An Earth with a perfect posture would be a little boring. Instead of seasons, the weather would be pretty much the same year-round, affected only by local storms (and the gradual effects of climate change). Regions that see snowy winters and pleasant summers with the tilt would end up locked in an endless autumn. “Winter’’ and ‘’summer’’ would be destinations rather than times of the year. You’d have to travel farther north or south of the Equator if you wanted to go snowboarding, while summer would exist only in the tropics. Nearly every day of the year would have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

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The Earth is tilted 23.5 degree on its axis. During the course of its path or revolution around the Sun, it is either tilted toward or away from the Sun. During the summer months, in the Northern hemisphere, although Earth is further away from the sun than in winter, it is actually tilted more directly toward the sun. Because of this, the sun is above the horizon longer, with more rays directly hitting Earth’s surface, resulting in longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures. However, in winter months, although the Earth is closer to the sun, it is tilted away from the sun, in the Northern hemisphere. This results in the sun rising lower in the sky and above the horizon for a shorter period of time, producing less hours of daylight and cooler temperatures.

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We have four seasons because the Earth doesn’t sit up straight: It’s tilted on its axis. As it orbits the sun, the planet’s slight slouch exposes more or less of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to the sun, depending on the time of year. When the South Pole is pointed toward the sun, Australia and other countries south of the Equator receive more direct sun exposure, resulting in warm summer temperatures. At the same time, the North Pole is pointed away from the sun, reducing sun exposure and making for chilly winter temperatures. The farther you are from the Equator, the greater this seasonal effect.

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Buildings would topple. Mountains would crumble. Seas would slosh into your bedroom. If Earth suddenly put on the brakes, everything and everyone on it would suddenly hurl in the direction of the planet’s former spin. (People who live closer to the Equator – where Earth’s spin is fastest – would have the roughest ride.) Gravity would keep us from flying into space, but Earth would become a different place – even for those who live far from the Equator. For starters, the worldwide system of time zones (created to adjust local time based on the Earth’s rotation) would change drastically. A day would last a year (it would now take 365 days for the sun to return to its original place in the sky). Crops would wither. We’d all need to slather on heavy-duty sunscreen to survive six months of sunlight before bundling up for six months of night. The good news is that this nightmare scenario is a virtual impossibility.

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