For years many people have believed that we are causing the Earth to warm up faster. Global Warming is the heating of the climate. Others believe it is due to natural climate processes. Either way, we know that Global Warming is a serious issue for our Earth.
One of the reasons we think Global Warming is occurring is because of Orbital Variations. “Orbital Variations” is part of a theory developed by Milutin Milkankovic. An astonishing fact about Milankovic was that he worked on this theory while a prisoner of war in World War I. In this theory Milankovic suggests that variations in axial tilt, precession, and eccentricity of Earth’s orbit determine Earth’s climate. Axial tilt is the variation of the angle of Earth’s tilt. Obliquity is a term that describes axial tilt as well. The tilt, measured in degrees, can vary from 22 to 24.5 over a period of 41,000 years. Increased Obliquity can cause summers to be warmer and winters to be colder. Decreased Obliquity can cause summers to be colder and warmer winters. As you can see in graph 1, every 41 years the climate goes through a series of changes. This is why some people think the Earth is going to get very hot very soon.
Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. For example, the star Polaris is the North Star, but in 13,000 years the Precession of the rotation of Earth’s axis means that it will not be directly north. This will cause the Earth to warm up also.
Orbital Eccentricity is also a factor. Eccentricity is the measurement of how stretched out the orbit pattern is. If the Orbital Eccentricity varies, we could be warming up much faster.
Some people claim that humans are to blame for Global Warming. Deforestation is a popular topic that Global Warming activists are bringing to people’s attention. Plants and trees