Axial precession

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In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In the absence of precession, the astronomical body's orbit would show axial parallelism. In particular, Earth's axial precession is the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation. It has a cycle of approximately 26,000 years, tracing out a double cone with a half-aperture of about 23.4°, an angle known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. This is similar to the precession of a spinning top. The term "precession" typically refers only to this largest part of the motion; other changes in the alignment of Earth's axis—nutation and polar motion—are much smaller in magnitude. Earth's precession was historically called the precession of the equinoxes, because the equinoxes moved westward along the ecliptic relative to the fixed stars, opposite to the yearly motion of the Sun along the ecliptic. Historically, the discovery of the precession...

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