The Earth sits comfortably in its orbit tilted on its axis at 23 degrees. Knock the planet over - and it wouldn't be the Earth as you know it.

For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

Earth maintains a tilt of approximately 23.5° on its axis. As the planet orbits the Sun, this tilt causes different hemispheres to receive varying amounts of direct sunlight throughout the year.

Earth's rotation is speeding up today for the 3rd and final time this summer Aug. 5 will be one of the shortest days of the year — by 1.25 milliseconds.