That wonderful tilt

"I know Elon Musk is high on homesteading Mars. Good on him. I also am high on exploring Mars with manned missions. But living there? With no tilt? No thanks."

23.5 degrees. That is our Earth's tilt. For those who are stuck in Minnesota, Wisconsin or the Dakotas this winter, and hate the snow and cold - blame that tilt. For those who love spring, fall and summer, embrace the tilt. As most of us learned back in grade school, it is Earth's tilt which gives us our seasons. And - it is Earth's tilt which is partially responsible to not have our home planet look like Venus - unlivable.

Actually, because of the Earth's wobble, our tilt can be as high as 24 point something, or as little as 22 point something. What does that mean? Not much, actually. Plus, as most of us know from watching the news or listening to the NASA channel on TV, our new telescopes are continuously finding new planets outside our Solar System. Some have water (maybe), some have an atmosphere of some kind, and some are in a "Goldilocks" zone. But guess what? None so far, have the "tilt" which would give them seasons. Or make them livable.

Can life evolve on one of the planets which we have discovered? Maybe. But that life will probably look a whole lot different than the life we are used to. Plus, it is not just the "tilt" which makes Earth such a wonderful home for us. It is also our magnetic core which circulates at just the right speed, to protect us from too much solar radiation. It is a combination of many other things, to boot. Kind of like someone planned it that way. Earth was made just for us.

Why do I bring all of this up? Winter. The time of year, when many of us (myself included), like to crab and complain about the weather. But a good hard winter is good for nature. It kills off many destructive beetles which harm our trees. It gives us good moisture, which slowly melts into the ground, as winter wanes. The snow cover insulates young plants, so they may once again come to life in the spring. Plus - we need to remember that our winter is summer in the southern hemisphere. I have been to Australia in December. It is like being in Minnesota in July.  

I know Elon Musk is high on homesteading Mars. Good on him. I also am high on exploring Mars with manned missions. But living there? With no tilt? No thanks. Maybe at one time Mars would have been livable (sort of), but now? No way. I will stick with Earth, thank you. And forgive me please, every time I crab about the endless winters in Minnesota.