The Sun's gravity provides the centripetal force for Earth's orbit, while the conservation of angular momentum from the solar system's formation accounts for its rotation. External torque is necessary to alter an object's angular momentum, but no torque is needed to maintain Earth's rotation. The Moon and Sun exert external torques through tidal forces, which gradually slow Earth's rotation. This has resulted in longer days over geological time, as Earth's rotation was significantly faster during its early formation. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for comprehending celestial mechanics.
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Harmony
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I understand that the Sun's gravity force provides the centripetal force for the Earth to orbit around it. However, what provides the torque for the rotational motion of Earth?
An external force is required to change an object's linear momentum. The same concept applies to rotational behavior as well. An external torque is required to change an object's angular momentum. No torque is needed to keep the Earth rotating about its axis. A torque would change the rotational motion.
That said, such external torques exist. The moon and sun act through the tides to slow the Earth's rotation rate. A day was considerably shorter when the Earth first formed than it is now.
Partial solar eclipse from Twizel, South Isl., New Zealand ...
almost missed it due to cloud, didnt see max at 0710 NZST as it went back into cloud.
20250922, 0701NZST
Canon 6D II 70-200mm @200mm,
F4, 100th sec, 1600ISO
Makeshift solar filter made out of solar eclipse sunglasses
Is a homemade radio telescope realistic?
There seems to be a confluence of multiple technologies that makes the situation better than when I was a wee lad: software-defined radio (SDR), the easy availability of satellite dishes, surveillance drives, and fast CPUs.
Let's take a step back - it is trivial to see the sun in radio. An old analog TV, a set of "rabbit ears" antenna, and you're good to go. Point the antenna at the sun (i.e. the ears are perpendicular to it) and there is...
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed).
n.b. I start this...