The sun was born from the accumulation of
hydrogen atoms in a cosmic nebula composed primarily of hydrogen with traces of
helium and other elements.
The sun accounted for approximately 99% of the
mass of the nebula from which it formed, while the Earth and the other planets
of the solar system were formed from the remaining 1% of the nebula's dust and
rocks. Due to the effect of the rotational torque that these planets, including
the Earth, retained when they separated from the sun, they began to revolve
around themselves in the same direction in which the sun was revolving during
its formation. Over time tides caused by the Moon's gravity, and to a lesser
extent by the Sun's, have slowed the Earth's rotation to 24 hours per day for
each full revolution at the equator at a rate of approximately 1,040 mph (or
1,670 km/h).
Every 365 days, the Earth revolves around the
sun. The direction of the Earth's rotation from west to east, or Prograde,
which appears clockwise when viewed from the top of the North Pole, causes us
to see the sun rise in the east and set in the west.
How were planets formed
This rotation trend is common among all
planets in our solar system, with exception to both planets: Venus and Uranus.
Venus, the closest planet to Earth, revolves
on its axis from east to west, so those standing on its surface would see the
sun rise in the west and set in the east. Scientists believe Venus was
initially orbiting like the other planets until a large celestial body collided
with it in the opposite direction, causing it to spin backwards. This explains
Venus's very slow rotation speed on its axis in comparison to its twin Earth,
as the length of a day on Venus is 243 Earth days, whereas the length of the solar
year for Venus is only 225 Earth days. As a result, if you live on Venus, your
days will outnumber your years.
Uranus, on the other hand, was most likely
struck by a large planetoid early in its history, causing it to rotate on its
side, 90 degrees away from its orbital motion. Venus rotates backwards in
comparison to the other planets, most likely as a result of an early asteroid
strike that disrupted its original rotation.
Can something like this happen on Earth?
The following is one of the most important
theories for the origin of the moon: Around 4.5 billion years ago, the planet
Earth collided with another planet the size of Mars, which they named Theia
after the Greek goddess of light.
The fragments of the collision then gathered
to form the moon, which began to revolve around the Earth, drawn in by its
gravity. The collision occurred in the direction of the Earth's rotation, which
accelerated it, shortening the day to only five hours. Later, the speed of the
Earth's axial rotation slowed, influenced by the moon's and sun's gravity,
until it became 24 hours today. Scientists estimate that the gravitational pull
of the sun and moon slows the Earth's rotation by milliseconds every 100 years.
This slowing has little effect on the speed of the Earth's rotation around its
axis, but it can be affected by the Earth colliding with a celestial body the
size of the Moon or Mars, as it did previously when colliding with Theia. If
this collision had occurred in the opposite direction of the Earth's current
rotation, the Earth could very well have rotated in the opposite direction. As
a result, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east, and
Earth Day would most likely have been much longer than it is now.
This prospect, while unlikely, is still
possible and could lead to the extinction of many known life species on Earth,
including humans; only those who survive will witness amazing changes in the
Earth's environment: the Earth's climate will be turned upside down.
In 2018, the European Union's General Assembly
for Earth Sciences conducted a computer simulation in Austria[1] showing that the earth's
rotation in the opposite direction of its current rotation around its axis
resulted in the disappearance of deserts on some continents and the appearance
of deserts on others. Deserts covered North America, arid sand dunes replaced
areas of South America's Rainforest, and green scenic landscapes flourished
from Central Africa to the Middle East. Blue bacteria, a type of bacteria that
produces oxygen through photosynthesis and is thought to have enriched the
Earth's atmosphere with oxygen at the beginning of its inception, assisting in
the formation of life, have appeared in the Indian Ocean where they had never
previously appeared, and cold and frost have increased in Western Europe.
Scientists at the General Assembly of Earth
Sciences conference reported that the South Atlantic (AMOC)[2],
a major carrying current that transports warm tropical Atlantic waters to the
north ocean and regulates climate and warms the coasts of Europe and northern America
had faded and emerged in the North Pacific.[3]
Here's What Your Climate Would Be if the Earth
Rotated in the Other Direction (Image credit: Florian Ziemen)
In the figure above, the diversity of the Earth's climate is shown to
the right according to its current rotational trend, with deserts expanding in
North and Central Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and the figure to the left
showing how the climate reflected as the earth's rotation reversed backwards;
forests appeared now in the desert-like areas of Africa and the Arabian
Peninsula, while forming a vast desert belt in the Americas.
This event is considered one of the major
signs of the Day of Judgment in Islamic eschatology. The Quran also alludes to the power of
Allah over celestial bodies, but the specific mention of the sun rising from
the west is found in the Hadith literature
.
Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 20, EGU 2018-523, 2018, EGU General
Assembly 2018, © Author(s) 2018. CC Attribution 4.0 license.
.
Brian Donegan, Here's What Your Climate Would Be if the Earth Rotated in the
Other Direction, Science, 18 April, 2018 TWC India.
.
Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer, What If Earth Started Spinning Backward?
livescience.com/ April 25, 2018.
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