The increased carbon dioxide and water vapor level of the atmosphere would again bring about a significant temperature rise. All things considered, a minor decrease in the sun's distance would have a drastic heating effect on the earth's surface. What would happen if the earth were a few million miles farther from the sun?
The reverse of the previous situation applies. We would have more of our planet covered by ice, with associated increased reflectivity of the sun's heat. The ocean would cover less of the earth's surface and the important process of absorption of heat by seawater would be decreased. Since the ocean would be colder, evaporation would be less with less heat-trapping water vapor in the atmosphere.
Much of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would become dissolved in the colder ocean. Calculations show that a decrease of carbon dioxide in the air to just one-half of its present level would lower the average temperature of the earth's surface by about 7. Thus, increasing the sun's distance would have a profound cooling effect on our planet. From this discussion we see that the earth is just the proper distance from the sun to maintain the right surface temperature suitable for life and the many important geologic processes!
To the evolutionist the distance of the earth from the sun is a strange accident, but to the creationist it is a marvelous testimony of God's planning. This tilt causes the four seasons.
During the months of May, June, and July the northern hemisphere is pointed toward the sun, causing the hemisphere to warm and bringing on the season called summer. During November, December, and January the northern hemisphere is pointed away from the sun providing colder temperatures and the season called winter. Why not some other value? What if the earth had no tilt, and the axis of rotation remained perpendicular to the plane of orbit? We would have no seasons and the surface temperature at any point on the earth would be the same during both July and January.
The equatorial region of our planet would be intolerably hot all year and the poles would remain fairly cold. Ice would accumulate at the poles. The weather patterns would be stationary with permanently positioned warm and cold air masses.
Some areas would continually be very humid while other areas would be quite arid. Only the mid-latitudes would be comfortable for human habitation and suitable for cultivation. Only about one half of our presently farmable lands could grow crops. What would be the effect if the earth had double the present tilt? Temperature extremes between seasons would be much more pronounced. Even the mid-latitudes would have unbearable heat in the summer and frigid cold in the winter.
Most of Europe and North America would experience very prolonged darkness in the winter and very prolonged daylight in the summer. Life on most of the earth's surface would become intolerable. The earth rotates once every 24 hours producing the interval of time called "day".
If the earth rotated more slowly, we would have more extreme day and night temperatures. Other planets have "days" which are many times that of the earth, producing scorching daytime heat followed by freezing nighttime cold.
The normal daily routine of plants and animals would be impossible if the earth day were much shorter than that of the present. The hour day seems to be optimum, serving to evenly heat the earth somewhat like a turkey turning on a barbecue spit. Thus, we could hardly improve on the present arrangement of tilt and rotation, which seems to be planned for both comfort and economy. Our present tilt causes seasons with associated fluctuations in weather, producing a maximum amount of farmable land and pleasant seasons.
The present rotation of the earth helps to uniformly heat its surface and cause winds and ocean currents. The earth's atmosphere is composed of four important gases. Fourth is carbon dioxide gas CO 2 , present at 0. Argon is inert and nitrogen is relatively inactive. These enter into very few chemical reactions. It is indeed fortunate that nitrogen gas does not readily combine with oxygen, otherwise, we could have an ocean full of nitric acid!
Oxygen gas is the most common reactive gas in our atmosphere. The presence of abundant oxygen is the feature which most distinguishes our atmosphere, for oxygen in more than trace amounts has not been discovered in the atmosphere of any other planet.
Unlike nitrogen gas, oxygen gas readily enters into reactions with other gases, with organic compounds, and with rocks. The present level of oxygen seems to be optimum. If we had more oxygen, combustion would occur more energetically, rocks and metals would weather faster, and life would be adversely affected.
If oxygen were less abundant, respiration would be more difficult and we would have a decreased quantity of ozone gas O 3 in the upper atmosphere which shields the earth's surface from deadly ultraviolet rays. Carbon dioxide is also a reactive gas which forms an essential part of our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is required by plants, serves to effectively trap the sun's radiation, and mixes with water to form an acid which dissolves rocks adding an important substance called bicarbonate to the ocean.
If we moved far enough away from the sun, we could expect to see major changes that affected our way of life. The hottest parts of the planet would become much cooler and could eventually suffer from ice and below-freezing temperatures. Even the Bahamas and other tropical destinations could become freezing cold over the coming months. This is an important distinction to make because getting closer to the sun could cause some serious changes to the planet.
Experts believe that getting even 1. What if Earth Was Closer? What if the Earth Moved Away? We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Read more on our privacy policy here. Cookie Settings Accept All.
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Good thing we're in the sweet spot. Will orbital chaos cause Earth, Venus and Mars to collide? How could a hotel orbit the Earth? Sources Bhatia, Aatish. June 2, April 10, Cite This! Try Our Sudoku Puzzles! More Awesome Stuff.
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