5 fascinating facts about the Earth’s axis and tides

Image by PIRO4D from Pixabay

1) Day and night

During Earth’s year-long orbit round the Sun, it also rotates once a day round its axis, an imaginary line passing through the North and South Poles, creating day and night.

2) The seasons

Earth’s axis tilts at 23.5°. When Earth orbits the Sun, the North Pole spends six months leaning towards the Sun and six months leaning away from it.

3) The tides

The Earth’s tides are caused by the gravity of the Moon. The Earth’s water on the side nearest to the Moon is pulled causing the water to bulge, this is known as a high tide.

4) Spring tide

The Sun also affects the tides, and when the Sun and Moon are aligned with the Earth, their combined gravities create the highest tide, called spring tide.

5) Neap tide

When the Sun and Moon are not lined up but are instead at right angles to each other, their gravities cancel each other out, creating the Earth’s lowest neap tides.


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