Moving Universe
By Jens Geffken - Written 25 Jan 25We stand on the Earth as if we are firmly anchored, yet in reality, our planet is in constant motion. The Earth is like a cosmic passenger, tirelessly speeding through the universe. Its location is anything but static, and these movements are backed by impressive numbers and facts. Let’s take a closer look at this journey.
1. The Earth’s Rotation Around Its Own Axis
The most obvious movement is the Earth’s rotation around its own axis. This causes day and night and occurs at a speed of about 1670 km per hour at the equator. This means that we are currently rotating at tremendous speed around our own axis—even though we don’t feel it. Why? Because the rotation is constant, and we, along with everything on the Earth’s surface, are moving together. There are no sudden accelerations or decelerations that we could notice.
2. The Earth’s Orbit Around the Sun
The next movement is the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. At a speed of about 107,000 km per hour, our planet travels around 940 million kilometers in one year. This path is not circular but slightly elliptical, which leads to the changing seasons. Again, we don’t feel it because this movement is steady and stabilized by the Sun’s gravity.
Seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis and not directly by the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun. Here’s a more detailed explanation:
Earth Axis Tilt: The Earth’s axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees relative to the perpendicular to the plane of the orbit (the ecliptic). This causes the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to be tilted more or less towards the Sun at different times of the year.
When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (around June 21), sunlight hits this region more directly, making the days longer and warmer—summer in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the Southern Hemisphere receives less direct sunlight, leading to winter there. The opposite occurs when the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (around December 21). Then, the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter and the Southern Hemisphere experiences summer.
The elliptical shape of the orbit plays a secondary role. Although the Earth is slightly closer to the Sun in January (perihelion) and further away in July (aphelion), this has little effect on the seasons. Temperatures mainly depend on the axis tilt and the angle at which sunlight hits the Earth. The Earth’s steady orbit around the Sun ensures that the seasons change regularly. Without this stability, the seasons would be chaotic or unpredictable. The seasons occur because of the Earth’s axial tilt, not because of the Earth’s distance from the Sun.
3. The Solar System Moves Through the Milky Way
The Sun itself is not a fixed point. It moves, along with its entire planetary system, through the Milky Way. The speed of this movement is about 828,000 km per hour. It takes approximately 230 million years for our solar system to complete one orbit around the galactic center—this period is called a galactic year. Since the Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, our planet has completed just about 20 such galactic years. This can be considered relatively young in astronomical terms.
4. The Milky Way Races Through the Universe
The Milky Way itself is also moving. Our galaxy is part of the Local Group, a cluster of galaxies that is moving toward the so-called Great Attractor at about 2.2 million km per hour—a massive collection of matter in the universe. The Great Attractor is a mysterious region in the universe that, due to its immense gravity, attracts a large number of galaxies, including our Milky Way. Here’s a detailed explanation:
The Great Attractor is not a single object, but a massive concentration of matter that exerts a strong gravitational pull.
It is located in the supercluster nexus, a region of space where several superclusters of galaxies are found.
The Great Attractor lies in the so-called Zone of Avoidance in the constellation Centaurus, a region of the sky that is obscured by the Milky Way.
It is about 150–250 million light years away from us.
The Great Attractor influences the movement of millions of galaxies, including the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the entire Local Group. Our Milky Way is moving at a speed of about 600 km per second towards the Great Attractor.
This movement is part of the cosmic flow, where galaxies are drawn towards mass-rich regions through gravitational interactions. This enormous cosmic dance shows that even the “solid” structures of the universe are always in motion.
Why don’t we notice anything?
Although we are part of a variety of movements, we don’t perceive them. This is due to the relativity of motion and the fact that we are part of this system. Imagine sitting in an airplane that is flying steadily. As long as there are no turbulences, you won’t feel the speed or the altitude. Similarly, with the Earth’s movement, our senses are not designed to register steady movements because there are no external reference points that we could directly perceive.
Furthermore, the Earth’s gravitational force protects us. It ensures that we stay firmly on the ground and aren’t flung into space, even though we are traveling at breakneck speeds.
5. Everything in Motion
The Earth is a true marvel of movement. From rotating on its own axis to traveling around the Sun, and even moving through the galaxy—our position in the universe is never static. These movements are so vast and constant that we don’t notice them in our daily lives. The universe is one gigantic dance.