Chandler Wobble

The "Chandler Wobble" is a measurable variation in the rotation of the earth as it spins on its axis. It was named after Seth Carlo Chandler, Jr. who discovered the wobble in 1891 and it is one of several “wobbling” motions the Earth has as it rotates on its axis like a spinning toy top around the sun. There is much scientific discussion over what causes the Chandler Wobble, and what it means (or doesn’t mean) in the big scheme of things but we know that when the earth wobbles, it shakes in its orbit.

NASA reports that the wobble is caused by the fluctuating pressure on the bottom of the ocean, caused by a mix of changes in temperature, salinity and wind. While scientists tend to agree that the oceanic pressure is the cause, there could be other reasons. Another proposed theory is that the wobble is the result of a molten core within the earth. Whatever the cause, the wobble has the attention of scientists who speculate on the physics of our world, who ponder the factors that keep it rotating through space. Besides “wobbling,” the earth is tilted on its axis.

At 23.45 degrees, the tilted earth moves in it’s course around the sun, and light and heat from the sun impacts the earth’s surface in certain amounts, producing each season, spring summer autumn and winter, in different parts of the earth simultaneously. It is remarkable to consider that it takes the 23-degree tilt and 24 hour revolution of the earth for the atmosphere to be heated and cooled, frozen and thawed in perfect form and synchronization. Even scientists who do not believe in a creator, know that it’s miraculous that the earth is suspended, moving, balanced.

It's quite amazing to think that if things were even ever so slightly different or out of equilibrium, it would be disastrous for life on earth.