The dreaded lunar "wobble"

This one's for the nerds.

Corporate media's fear porn about a "wobble" in the Moon's orbit exacerbating sea level rise leaves the reader in the dark as to what the "wobble" even is and why it would result in higher tides. Not even the NASA article on which the report is based provides a clear description of the mechanics involved. I did the research these hacks neglected to do so you, the news consumer, are informed and knowledgeable about the near-invisible reality of the nature of God's created order.

The technical term for the "wobble" is nodal precession. Before I can explain what that is, I have to first explain that Earth revolves around the Sun on what's called the plane of the ecliptic. All major bodies of the solar system more or less revolve around the Sun on the plane of the ecliptic. Earth tilts 23.4 degrees relative to this plane, which results in seasonal variance in the length of days and the weather. The variance is more intense the farther from the equator you live.

Earth's equator is perpendicular to this tilt and follows the direction of Earth's daily spin. The Moon does not revolve around Earth over Earth's equator. It revolves more or less around Earth on the plane of the ecliptic. That "more or less" is plus or minus 5 degrees. Over an 18-year period, the Moon's orbit over Earth rotates like an off-center spinning top so that the highest latitude on Earth that it directly passes over falls within a 10-degree range, or about 700 miles.

At the lower extreme, called minor lunar standstill, the farthest north the Moon goes is Mexico City. At the upper extreme 9 years later, called major lunar standstill, the farthest north the Moon goes is Orlando, Florida. This is the phase of the Moon's "wobbling" orbit that the fearmongering is about.

Finally we can talk about tides. The Moon is 70% responsible for tides (the Sun being the other 30%). The Moon traversing higher latitudes on Earth means those higher latitudes will experience higher high tides.

How much higher? Wait for it… … … … 1.9 inches. Unless you live at sea level, there's nothing to worry about.

If this talk about orbital mechanics tickles your fancy, I recommend my debut novel Tendrils to the Moon. You can find an extended preview here.

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As always, let me know what you think in the comments. I'll reply back as soon as I can.