A typical desk globe is designed to be a geometric sphere and to rotate smoothly when you spin it. Our actual planet is far less perfect — in both shape and in rotation. Earth is not a perfect sphere.

Humans may have altered the Earth’s rotation significantly between 1993 and 2010 alone by pumping large quantities of water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere. Alarming levels of groundwater ...

As humans extract more and more groundwater, we are literally changing the composition of the planet, so much so that we are also shifting the tilt of the globe. According to a recent study in the ...

(CNN) — Humans’ unquenchable thirst for groundwater has sucked so much liquid from subsurface reserves that it’s affecting Earth’s tilt, according to a new study. (CNN) — Humans’ unquenchable thirst ...

A recent groundbreaking study published in Geophysical Research Letters has revealed an astonishing new insight: Earth’s rotational axis has shifted 31.5 inches in less than two decades, largely due ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

A recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals that human activity, particularly the over-pumping of groundwater, has shifted Earth's axis by 31.5 inches (about 80 centimeters) over ...

A boy looks at a water pump on a street in New York City. Between 1993 and 2010, researchers estimate that humans have pumped over two trillion tons of water out of the ground. Bettmann / Contributor ...

Earth wobbles on its axis like a spinning top, a motion called precession. This wobble takes about 26,000 years to complete one full circle. Different stars have served as the North Star throughout ...

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Humans’ unquenchable thirst for ...