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Question
8 why is the earths axis tilted?
The Earth's axis is tilted (at about 23.5°) due to a giant impact during its early formation. A Mars - sized body (often called Theia) collided with the young Earth. This impact not only contributed to the formation of the Moon (from the debris of the collision) but also caused the Earth's rotational axis to become tilted from its original, more upright orientation relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. Other factors like gravitational interactions with other celestial bodies (such as the Moon and other planets) can also influence the tilt over long periods, but the giant impact hypothesis is the most widely accepted explanation for the initial tilt.
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The Earth's axis is tilted (≈23.5°) mainly due to a giant impact during its early formation (a Mars - sized body named Theia collided with the young Earth), which also helped form the Moon. Gravitational interactions with other celestial bodies can also affect the tilt over time.