Apparent polar wander
So, you know how the earth spins, right? Well, sometimes it spins on its axis differently than it usually does, kind of like when you spin a top and it starts to wobble. When this happens, it can make it seem like the North Pole or the South Pole is moving around even though it's actually the earth that's moving.
Scientists call this movement "apparent polar wander". It's called "apparent" because it just looks like the poles are moving, even though they're not really. It's like when you're sitting in a car and another car starts moving next to you, it looks like you're moving even though it's really the other car that's moving.
Now, why does this happen? Well, the earth's crust is made up of big pieces called tectonic plates, like a puzzle. These plates can move around on the earth's mantle, which is like the hot, gooey part under the crust. And when they move, they can change the way the earth spins, which makes it seem like the poles are wandering.
Scientists can measure these movements by looking at the rocks on the earth's surface. Rocks are kind of like time capsules, they can tell us how old they are and also which way the earth's magnetic field was pointing when they were formed. By looking at lots of rocks from different places around the world, scientists can figure out how the earth's poles have moved over millions of years.
It's pretty cool, huh? We might not be able to see the poles moving with our own eyes, but our planet is always changing and studying these changes can help us understand more about how the earth works.
Scientists call this movement "apparent polar wander". It's called "apparent" because it just looks like the poles are moving, even though they're not really. It's like when you're sitting in a car and another car starts moving next to you, it looks like you're moving even though it's really the other car that's moving.
Now, why does this happen? Well, the earth's crust is made up of big pieces called tectonic plates, like a puzzle. These plates can move around on the earth's mantle, which is like the hot, gooey part under the crust. And when they move, they can change the way the earth spins, which makes it seem like the poles are wandering.
Scientists can measure these movements by looking at the rocks on the earth's surface. Rocks are kind of like time capsules, they can tell us how old they are and also which way the earth's magnetic field was pointing when they were formed. By looking at lots of rocks from different places around the world, scientists can figure out how the earth's poles have moved over millions of years.
It's pretty cool, huh? We might not be able to see the poles moving with our own eyes, but our planet is always changing and studying these changes can help us understand more about how the earth works.