2011-2012: Earth Tilt Research Results (updated)

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[Winter Solstice Tilt Update 2012... In short, all appears more normal like last Winter Solstice. That's good news and matches the less extreme global events when compared to 2010 & 2011... but time will tell. The key is being "objective." Stay tuned.

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Like everybody else, I've read, listened to "stories" the Earth was tilting and had fun debunking the armchair "know-it-alls" out there. Or worse, debunking the 2012 Doomsayers & Disinformers making such outlandish claims that nobody takes them seriously. Let's face it, you have to dig through a lot of manure to find the pony at this website, sometimes. So, this time I set out to debunk this whole "Tilting Earth" nonsense once and for all... and got a surprise! 

A. My Original Theory: The Earth is still tilted at a normal 23.5 degree angle.

Last year, my older brother and I were discussing this topic when he mentioned a number of local farmers working their fields were saying the same thing... the sun was not setting in the right places for that time of year. That's when my ears perked up. I grew up around farmers and I know this group of no-nonsense, rugged individuals stay in tune with nature, weather & sun conditions all the time to care for their large crop investments. They may be no scientists... but they are NO DUMMIES either... they know how to grow food, do you?

B. Observational Info & Parameters:

I chose an old southern Ohio town I drive by with hills very close to the horizon stretching South to North to make sure I got accurate readings at sunset. And a side benefit was... the hills provided reliable landmarks to work with as I noted the suns setting location 5 days after the Winter Solstice & 5 days before the Summer Solstice.

Why the 5 day delay? Simple, each Solstice represents the extreme distance the sun will move along the horizon to the South or North. And with all the debunkers out there drooling to blow this article away, the figures I share needed to be more "Conservative" in nature. So, I armed myself with a compass, protractor, satellite map, patience and good old math. I located a single point to stand  each time to take my sunset readings just as the sun hit the horizon ...and then marked it down on the map.

As I said, best to go with a more conservative reading. So, what I am going to share could be off by as much as +/- 1 degree, fair enough? Besides, I am using "Old School" tools that folks have used for centuries to navigate the world, It shouldn't require a "Transit" to get "NASA" quality results to share.

Over time, I even dumped the lensatic compass readings once I discovered the 8-13 degree variance caused by polar drift? But since I was already using both horizon landmarks as well as the compass, I lost no reading data.  (Note: Geophysical map landmarks & protractors don't lie... but compasses can.)

C. Solar Reading Results:

Using basic math, map & angle calculations anybody can do, the results were very interesting but nothing to panic over... just fascinating. I've attached a map below of the area observed, marked it with my results... even took several readings on different days to ensure accuracy too. 

Some Basics First: 

1. * The earth's tilt is normally 23.5 degrees which gives us a nice change of seasons.
2. * California is farther South on the globe than Ohio, indiana, Pennsylvannia because of the 23.5 degree tilt in relation to the sun... it's not horizontally the same as depicted on so many maps! 
3. * Sunrises move from the East by SouthEast to East by NorthEast every 6 months (23.5 degrees)  
4. * Sunsets move from the West by SouthWest to West by NorthWest every 6 months (23.5 degrees) 

My Results:

• * The earth's normal tilt of 23.5 degrees has increased a minimum of +/- 5.5 degrees to an estimated 29 degreesover an unknown span of time.    
• * The angular difference from a Winter Solstice sunset to a Summer Solstice sunset is supposed to be 47 degrees  (23.5 x 2) from the same observation point.

• * Spring/Fall Equinox Sunrises/Sunsets is supposed to mark the 0 Degree mark used to indicate true East & West.
• (Note: These equinox solar directional readings were used to design small town streets to head in the four cardinal directions of the average compass [North, South, East, West]… but not so much anymore.)
• * From Winter Solstice 2011 timeframe to Summer Solstice timeframe 2012… the angular difference has increase in favor of the North from 47 degrees (normal) to 58 degrees! 

 What Does It All Mean?:

• 1. THE FARMERS WERE RIGHT… the sun is favoring a more northerly Summer setting point…and something has changed.
• 2. The sun is setting in the NORTHWEST rather than the traditional West-by-NorthWest.
• 3. Magnetic North is “SLOWLY” drifting more southerly towards Northwest Siberia. (Note: This is a confirmed & well known fact).
• 4. Why is this happening?: UNKNOWN.
• 5. I’ve noted a variance of as much as 8-13 degrees off on my lensatic compass when compared to older maps of the area. And I know a number of airports last year that had to “reset” their landing strips compass headings to adjustfor this Magnetic Polar drift. I’m not sure how to test this one further except to watch & observe if it continues to get worse. 

THE BIGGER PICTURE:  What’s Next?

Well, everybody has their opinion but I think we’ve seen enough weather wierdness over the past several years to take an educated guess:

1. * EARTH’S TILT CONTINUES INCREASE AS IT FOLLOWS MAGNETIC NORTH DRIFT TO CATCH UP:  If you could remote operate the core of a softball filled with fluid; suspended in space; and change the direction the core spun, (with enough time) the laws of fluid dynamics would start changing the direction the outer shell of the ball spun until the core and shell spun in the same direction.  But since Earth is not made of a single piece, but of many pieces called “Tectonic Plates”, the ride will be bumpier as the plates bump, grind and scrape each other as they slowly flex causing increased tectonic & volcanic activity… which the USGS has noted already over the past decade. 
2. * EARTH WEATHER PATTERNS WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE: As our planet tilts some areas to warmer lattitudes, others will naturally move northward. Growing seasons, rainy seasons, winters…etc will be pretty mixed up during this transition period due to the Jet Stream moving over the changing landscape below.
3. * MORE GLOBAL EXCITEMENT TO COME: Since nobody has ever lived through anything like this before… your guess is as good as mine what would happen. The scientists don’t know… I’ve heard them say a change of several degrees in our axis / tilt would destroy us all! But we’re still here and doing fine. Perhaps it’s because the Axial Tilt is moving slowly… steadily. But it would explain the steady increases over the past decade in earthquakes; volcanic eruptions of “ancient” systems; deep South USA steam plume activity; loud “groaning” sounds; screwed up magnetic fields and/or toxic fumes released from deep sea fissures poisoning/beaching dolphins, whales… killing birds; causing more global sink holes to appear; causing islands to slowly sink; melting off the Arctic region now pointing more towards the sun… and so much more.

CONCLUSION:  To be determined