What is the translation of the Earth?

We explain what is the translation of the Earth and the consequences of this movement. The speed it reaches and the rotation of the Earth.

1. What is the translation of the Earth?

The translation of the Earth is one of the movements the planet and is to turn around the sun . It takes 365 days and 6 hours to complete the journey. Every four years, those hours add up and give a total of 24 hours. That is why, every four years, we have a leap year on our calendar, in which the month of February has one more day.

The translation movement occurs in the Earth’s orbit and reaches a distance of 930 million kilometers . Although the average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 150 million kilometers, the orbit in the form of an ellipse or oval generates that, in some sections, the Earth is closer to the Sun and in others, further away. These distances cause climatic differences on the planet that give rise to the seasons.

2. Consequences of translation movement

The two main consequences of the Earth’s movement movement are:

• The succession of the seasons. The sun’s energy heats the planet’s surface with different intensity, depending on the inclination of the earth’s axis. Therefore, during the translation movement, when the Earth is farther from the luminous star, the rays impact directly and with greater intensity of energy. On the other hand, when the Earth is close to the Sun, the rays project in the form of a curve, which causes a loss in energy intensity. These variations produce different temperatures that give rise to the four seasons of the year:
  • Spring. The season begins with the spring equinox, between March 20 and 21 in the northern hemisphere, and between September 22 and 23 in the southern hemisphere.
  • Summer. It is the hottest season and begins with the summer solstice, June 21 in the northern hemisphere and December 21 in the southern hemisphere.
  • Autumn. It begins in the northern hemisphere with the autumn equinox, around September 23 in the northern hemisphere and March 21 in the southern hemisphere.
  • Winter. It is the coldest season that begins with the winter solstice, between December 20 and 23 for the northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 for the southern hemisphere.

In the regions of Ecuador, the climate is tropical throughout the year because the sun’s rays are projected directly, without too many alterations. There are only two seasons that are differentiated by the intensity of the rains: the dry season and the rainy season.

• The duration of day and night. Although day and night occur with the earth’s rotation movement, it is the movement of the Earth that determines that the days are longer and the nights shorter or vice versa, depending on the season of the year (i.e. , of the distance in which the planet is in relation to the Sun).

3. Earth’s translation speed

Because the Earth moves over its orbit that is elliptical, the speed of the translational movement is not constant, it has a slight variation. It is estimated that the approximate translation speed is 107,000 kilometers per hour . We do not feel it due to the force of gravity of the Earth, which attracts as a magnet to everything on the earth’s surface.

4. Earth rotation

The rotation movement occurs when a body, like the planet Earth, rotates on its own axis, which remains fixed . On the other hand, the movement of translation is the movement that a celestial body makes when it turns on its orbit around the Sun.

The Earth’s axis is an imaginary line that is not straight but has an inclination angle of 24 ° from the Earth’s orbit . This inclination causes the sun’s rays to impact with different intensity in the northern hemisphere with respect to the southern hemisphere.