"Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis every 24 hours" - Wrong! The Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis in approximately 23 hours 56 minutes. It requires a further four minutes of rotation to bring the Sun back to the same point because the Earth is revolving around the Sun. The four-minute difference between the lengths of the solar and sidereal days supports the orbital model. Six months of four minutes adds up to about 12 hours, which is why the Earth after six months is still facing the Sun at local midday.
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Brendan Ward
- 3 years ago
"Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis every 24 hours" - Wrong! The Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis in approximately 23 hours 56 minutes. It requires a further four minutes of rotation to bring the Sun back to the same point because the Earth is revolving around the Sun. The four-minute difference between the lengths of the solar and sidereal days supports the orbital model. Six months of four minutes adds up to about 12 hours, which is why the Earth after six months is still facing the Sun at local midday.