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Posted By: Desslok Apr 30, 2004 - 10:47 am

I've been speculating something recently:

What type of method could be used to shift the Earth's poles? Say some evil overlord wanted to tilt the planet about 40 degrees, but keep the axis at the same angle it currently points. That way, the poles could be somewhere in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Antarctica and Greenland would thaw, and Hawaii and Madagascar would start to ice over.

Not that I'm trying to take over the world or anything...

Posted By: Bmat Apr 30, 2004 - 12:00 pm

The planet being struck by a large body such as a meteor?

Posted By: Desslok Apr 30, 2004 - 12:04 pm

That was my initial thought, but to get it just right, you'd probably need three asteroids, aimed at specific coordinates:

1. To start the tilt
2. To counteract the shift when the angle is right
3. To start the new rotation on its new axis

That would probably do more damage to the surface than desired, but I can't think of a simpler method.

Posted By: Bmat Apr 30, 2004 - 12:21 pm

Could it be a chance happening that only one asteroid was needed- by coincidence the planet was struck and tilted an acceptable amount...about the new rotation- I'm not sure about that. Maybe the overlord encouraged the approach of the asteroid and magically split it- one part tilted the planet, the other started the rotation.

Just ruminating.

Posted By: Starfire Apr 30, 2004 - 01:37 pm

Dess, what have I told you about this taking over the world bit?

Posted By: Desslok May 03, 2004 - 05:01 am

Shhh... It's a secret.

What if a rogue gas giant passed near enough to Earth to shift the rotation? That might work without having to create any impact damage from falling asteroids.

Posted By: Aldan May 03, 2004 - 09:27 am

I don't really see how it would shift the axis of rotation, though, Dess... It would affect the spin rate, most likely, and THAT would cause TREMENDOUS damage to the world. This would then be half the battle. However, the axis shift would require that the planet STOP rotating completely and then be started again, rotating on a different axis.

Posted By: Nomad May 05, 2004 - 08:39 am

Aldan,
I dont think the planet would need to stop to change it axit points of rotations. It could be tugged slowly around to another axis of rotation. The planet would essencially "Wobble", whic it does now, but in a more widing arc until the planet steadit iteself and could end up with a differnt axis. Just MHO.

Posted By: Aldan May 05, 2004 - 09:58 am

I was assuming that we were attempting to do this in a reasonable amount of time, not tens (or hundreds) of thousands of years. I might have been wrong, though...

Posted By: LightBrigade May 05, 2004 - 07:25 pm

Nomad has a very good point!

There are natural forces active already which have resulted in a small change of the axis angle (23.5 degrees from the vertical now); the axis angle and precession was first estimated at about 130 BC by Hipparchus. Some scientists believe the tilt was roughly 21.5 degrees then. This change is said to have influenced astrologers' horoscopes but it certainly has affected the climate pattern.

Would the position of the Poles change if a hypothetical finger could push the planet a little bit so that the axis shifted to a particular direction so that the Poles came, say, over Greenland and the Indian Ocean, without causing critical harm to the geodynamic structure of the planet in the effort?

Such an external force would probably have little effect in shifting the Poles.

The Magnetic Poles exist not because the axis is tilted but because of the magma.

The inner part of the planet is at various states of molten matter. This spins along with the planet. This property causes a major force, among other effects – one of which is the relocation of the tectonic plates globally. The effect of the force is the tendency of the planet to continue its movement around itself, around the sun, and in the direction the solar system is moving in the galaxy.

This inertia force somehow, for reasons unknown but with the result that the planet continues to exist, counterbalances the natural magnetic influences of the various and many electromagnetic fields or gravity fields, the planet becomes subject of through its journey in the solar system, as it moves around the sun, and also through its journey in space as the whole of the solar system moves to a particular direction in the galaxy, to mention some only major parameters. As a result, the planet remains in the orbit we know around the sun and spins as we know as our solar system itself travels in the galaxy.

To bring about a change in the position of the Magnetic Poles, one should consider relocating the planet matter below the very thin planet crust to a desired position inside the sphere of the planet, sphere mentioned here for simplicity because the planet is not exactly spherical, it bulges out at the equatorial level; which state is magma-related, too.

(The axial tilt is responsible for the four seasons manifesting opposite on the two hemispheres. The particular elliptic orbit around the sun is responsible for the four seasons. The spin is among others responsible for the day and night phenomenon. The axis dithers in a roughly circular path, or the Chandler Wobble. I feel such wobbling can not bring about a permanent axis shift.)

Posted By: Nomad May 06, 2004 - 06:24 pm

Thanks LB. That certainly put a good spin on the subject (Uh oh...Im turning into Aldan)

Posted By: Aldan May 07, 2004 - 09:34 am

*GRIN*
My impression from the original question was not changing the axial tilt, but changing the location of the axis of the spin. I believe he mentioned Hawaii or something as being on one of the new poles, and was wondering how to describe how this could be made to happen... The whole "stop the planet's rotation idea" was the only method that I could come up with to be able to relocate the poles in a short time period, with the new axis caused by an object striking/passing near the earth at a different angle (over one of the current poles) after the original spin was stopped. Any other option would simply increase the wobble, not change the axis...