# Quake Likely Shifted Earth’s Axis 3" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942 "2010-03-02T01:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/21 "2010-03-02T15:16:42Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I caught that as well. Any idea what that guy is on about? Can we take the rest of his comments seriously with a flub like that? I’d say that if I caught the error, it’s pretty egregious… I’m sure that by “winter” he means northern hemisphere winter. In other words, the whole globe rotates more slowly in January and more quickly in July. There’s no torque. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/22 "2010-03-02T15:58:50Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > When we talk about the tilt, we’re talking about the angle of the planet (from pole to pole) relative to the ecliptic on which it travels around the sun. That’s not the way I read [Squink’s link](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-009) (say that three times fast). [QUOTE=JPL] NASA scientists using data from the Indonesian earthquake calculated it affected Earth’s rotation, decreased the length of day, slightly changed the planet’s shape,\*\* and shifted the North Pole by centimeters\*\*. The earthquake that created the huge tsunami also changed the Earth’s rotation. [/QUOTE] My emphasis. This of course refers to the Indian Ocean quake but the [kunilou’s link](http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0302/1224265432876.html) suggests that we’re talking about the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/23 "2010-03-02T16:36:51Z")
What does it mean by “shifted the north pole”? Does that mean the center of the magnetic pole changed which chunk of land it’s on, or that the physical location of the north pole relative to the ecliptic has shifted as a natural consequence of very slight change in tilt? You may be right, but it sounds like we may be describing the same issue differently. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/24 "2010-03-02T17:51:22Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > By contrast, a quartz wristwatch is accurate to about a [half-second per day](http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Quartz:clock.htm). Cheap crap quartz wristwatches, maybe. My digital wristwatch rarely gains or loses more than a second per month (and it’s not a fancy radio controlled one or anything like that). ---
**Author:** ![bonitahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bonitahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonitahi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/25 "2010-03-02T18:27:50Z")
Do the locations of the poles change? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/26 "2010-03-02T18:50:36Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What does it mean by “shifted the north pole”? Does that mean the center of the magnetic pole changed which chunk of land it’s on, or that the physical location of the north pole relative to the ecliptic has shifted as a natural consequence of very slight change in tilt? You may be right, but it sounds like we may be describing the same issue differently. You’re right that, based on a dumbed down news report, we can’t be sure what’s meant. Nevertheless, I took it to mean that the geographic pole moved to a chunk of land 3" from where it was. [QUOTE=jpl] The “[mean North pole](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-009)” was shifted by about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in the direction of 145 degrees East Longitude. This shift east is continuing a long-term seismic trend identified in previous studies. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if that makes sense or not but the picture in my mind that same old figure skater only this time she just pulls in one arm. That would decrease her moment of inertia but also change her centre of gravity and therefore move her axis of rotation. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/27 "2010-03-02T18:57:30Z")
Do they have to recalculate everything about the earth’s rotation and stuff whenever a big quake like this hits? I imagine that for little things like angle of a building, strength of a bridge, they don’t have to do much adjusting, but if astronomers are using some base earth measurement to look at stars which are light years away, would a tilt of a few inches make a difference? ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/28 "2010-03-03T06:52:15Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Do they have to recalculate everything about the earth’s rotation and stuff whenever a big quake like this hits? I imagine that for little things like angle of a building, strength of a bridge, they don’t have to do much adjusting, but if astronomers are using some base earth measurement to look at stars which are light years away, would a tilt of a few inches make a difference? They do – so do people trying to calculate the positions of satellites. Fortunately, the [International Earth Rotation Service](http://www.iers.org/sid_34B234F7016BD2D50164E112D2405FE2/IERS/EN/IERSHome/home.html?__nnn=true) provides tables of the necessary corrections. It’s not just earthquakes – the Earth wobbles and shifts slightly all the time, due to external gravitational influences and internal shifts in the Earth’s mass distribution. but we’re talking small fractions of a degree. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/29 "2010-03-03T16:06:25Z")
> [@bonitahi](#): > > Do the locations of the poles change? There are two sets of poles - the geographic poles and the magnetic poles. The magnetic poles certainly drift. Here’s a [map](http://web.archive.org/web/20070605175632/http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/img/northpoledrift.gif)of where the north magnetic pole has been recently. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/30 "2010-03-03T16:48:43Z")
The geographic poles move also, and by a lot more than three inches–see the [Chandler wobble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_wobble). Note that this is actual realignment of the axis of rotation relative to the stars, not surface movement due to plate tectonics or shifting ice. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942/31 "2010-03-03T18:28:23Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I caught that as well. Any idea what that guy is on about? Can we take the rest of his comments seriously with a flub like that? I’d say that if I caught the error, it’s pretty egregious… Aw, I thought we were on our way to the science in “The Core” become accurate. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-3/530942.md?page=1)