It takes 24 hours for the Earth to complete a full rotation:Īnd when it does, half of the Earth is exposed to the light of the sun,Įarth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle – so where you live determines how long or short your days and nights are. Just like a basketball player spinning a ball on their finger – but at over 1,500 kilometres per hour! That’s because the Earth is a sphere that constantly rotates on its axis: So how come days don’t last half a year where you live?
It travels around the sun at around 107,000 kilometres per hour,Īnd takes 365 days to complete a full orbit – that’s a whole year! Humans once believed it was because the sun travelled across the sky – and they used its trajectory to do lots of things, like tell the time.Īll the other planets that make up our solar system – including Earth – orbit around it.Įarth is approximately 149 million kilometres away from the sun. Later it sets in the West – and it becomes night.īut have you ever wondered why that happens? Every morning, here on Earth, the sun rises in the East – and the day begins.
