True polar wander is a solid-body rotation of a planet or moon with respect to its spin axis, causing the geographic locations of the North and South Poles to change, or "wander". In a stable state, the largest moments of inertia axis is aligned with the spin axis, with the smaller two moment of inertia axes lying in the plane of the equator. When this is not the case, true polar wander will occur: the planet or moon will rotate as a rigid body to realign the largest moment of inertia axis with the spin axis.
Read more about True Polar Wander: Description in The Context of Earth, Examples, Distinctions and Delimitations, Tectonic Plate Reconstructions, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words true, polar and/or wander:
“The question is not ... if art is enough to fulfill my life, but if I am true to the path I have set for myself, if I am the best I can be in the things I do. Am I living up to the reasons I became a singer in the first place?”
—Kathleen Battle (b. 1948)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)
“I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round
Coupled with golden chains, and sing as they fly.
A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound
Has made them so happy and hopeless, so deaf and so blind
With wisdom, they wander till all the years have gone by....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)