Astronomical Influences on Earth’s Climate (I)
Factors affecting Earth’s climate:
• Eccentricity of Earth’s orbit around the sun (varies over period of
~ 100,000 years)
• Precession (Period
of ~ 26,000 years)
• Inclination of
Earth’s axis versus orbital plane
Milankovitch
Hypothesis: Changes in all three of these aspects are responsible for long-term global
climate changes (ice ages)
