Earth tipped over on its side 84 million years ago and then righted itself, new study finds
According to a new study, Earth tilted by 12 degrees about 84 million years ago.
"A 12-degree tilt of the Earth could affect latitude that same amount," Sarah Slotznick, a geobiologist at Dartmouth College and co-author of the new study, told Insider.
It would approximately move New York City to where Tampa, Florida, is right now, she added.
Imagine the Earth as a chocolate truffle — a viscous center ensconced in a hardened shell. The center consists of a semi-solid mantle that encircles the liquid outer core. The top layer of the truffle, the Earth's crust, is fragmented into tectonic plates that fit together like a puzzle. Continents and oceans sit atop these plates, which surf atop the mantle.
The researchers found that, between 86 and 79 million years ago, the crust and mantle had rotated around Earth's outer core and back again — causing the entire planet to tilt and then right itself like a roly-poly toy.
"A 12-degree tilt of the Earth could affect latitude that same amount," Sarah Slotznick, a geobiologist at Dartmouth College and co-author of the new study, told Insider.
It would approximately move New York City to where Tampa, Florida, is right now, she added.
Imagine the Earth as a chocolate truffle — a viscous center ensconced in a hardened shell. The center consists of a semi-solid mantle that encircles the liquid outer core. The top layer of the truffle, the Earth's crust, is fragmented into tectonic plates that fit together like a puzzle. Continents and oceans sit atop these plates, which surf atop the mantle.
The researchers found that, between 86 and 79 million years ago, the crust and mantle had rotated around Earth's outer core and back again — causing the entire planet to tilt and then right itself like a roly-poly toy.
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