The motion of the Earth around the Sun and the effect of this in Essay

The motion of the Earth around the Sun and the effect of this in respect of temporal orientation - Essay Example The motion of the Earth around the Sun and the effect of this in respect of temporal orientation In the 18th and 19th century scientists discovered the Sun to be only one star among from an infinitesimal number of stars and in the 20th century it revealed that Milky Way is only one galaxy among the myriads of similar galaxies. Nowadays Einstein’s theory of relativity is universally accepted. Relying on the equivalence principle, it has become unnecessary to determine the centre of the Cosmos. In other words, one can elect either the Sun or the Earth to be the centre (or reference point) of the solar system. All we know, everything is in motion in the Universe. The Earth is spinning around its axis and moves on an orbit around the Sun. These motions cause the alternation of days and nights and that of seasons. Observing from the Earth it appears as if the Sun were moving in the sky, following a regular path on the celestial heaven. We call Ecliptic the apparent way the Sun makes in a year in the sky. More precisely, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane. The ecliptic plane contains the Earth’s mean orbital plane in the solar system. Except for two, most planets in the solar system are moving almost on the same plane, therefore these planets appear from the Earth always close to the Ecliptic. The two exceptions are Mercury and Pluto whose orbital planes deviate from the ecliptic plane by 7Â ° and 17Â °, resp.