THE earth rotation is a movement that the Earth it performs around its own axis, that is, it is the spinning movement of our planet, as if it were a top spinning upright! This movement is very important to us, as it is responsible for the existence of days and nights.
If we observe the Earth from space over the North Pole region, we will see that it rotates counterclockwise, that is, counterclockwise. Likewise, if we look at the Earth from its Equator Line (horizontal line between the north and south of the planet), we will see that the direction of the Earth's rotation is from west to east.
Because of the direction in which the rotation movement takes place, the apparent sun movement it is east to west, meaning the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. This explains, for example, why people call Japan the “land of the rising sun” because, symbolically, the day starts there first. Of course this is just a convention and not a reality, as the spherical (geoid) shape of our planet means that, in theory, no place receives the sun before from the other.
The rotation movement has a duration of 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds and 9 hundredths, being this duration of one day on Earth. So, to make it easier, we've rounded up this time to 24 hours.
And why does the Earth rotate?
THE origin of rotation movement, according to the most accepted theories, is related to the process of formation of the Earth itself. Our planet and our entire Solar System were formed in a single process, which originated from a cloud of gas and dust that was also rotating in conjunction with our galaxy. Thus, this movement was conserved during the formation of the planets and the sun.
This means that our sun also has a rotation movement, just like the other planets that make up the solar system. However, the speed at which this movement takes place varies from one planet to another, and this makes the days and nights have different durations between them.
What if the Earth didn't rotate?
If the rotational movement did not exist, it would not be possible to have life on our planet. We would have a long day of six months and a night of the same duration because of the translation movement. The days would present very high temperatures, impossible for any living being to resist. The nights would be so cold that temperatures would freeze almost everything, being also impossible to live.
In this imaginary situation, the meeting areas between the dark side and the light side of the Earth would also present several climate problems, such as huge hurricanes and strong storms, due to the encounter between very cold and very cold air. hot.
It's a good thing the rotation movement exists, isn't it!?