The Moving Earth

The moving Earth. Image courtesy of Corel Corporation. Even though we cannot sense it, the Earth is constantly in motion. In fact, the Earth isn't just moving, it's moving really fast! The fact that we do not feel as if we are moving led people to believe that the Earth is the stationary center of the universe for centuries. Eventually, astronomers discovered that the only way to explain all of the motions they observed in the sky was if the Earth were really moving. From their observations of the sky, they realized that there are two components to the Earth's motion; the Earth is orbitting the Sun, and the Earth is spinning like a top.

Last modified prior to September, 2000 by the Windows Team

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