The correct option is (a).
Explanation
The Earth's axis is an imaginary line passing through the North and South Poles, around which the planet rotates. This axis is inclined at an angle of 66½° to the plane of its orbit (the ecliptic plane) and 23½° to the line perpendicular to the ecliptic plane.
Statement-wise Analysis:
- Statement 1 is Correct: The Earth's axis maintains a fixed orientation relative to the background stars as the Earth revolves around the Sun. This phenomenon is known as the parallelism of the Earth's axis. Regardless of the Earth's position in its orbit, the axis remains inclined at the same angle and points in the same direction in space.
- Statement 2 is Incorrect: Due to axial parallelism, the Earth's axis points constantly towards the same star, Polaris (the North Star), throughout the year. It does not shift to point towards a different star every month. While the axis does undergo a slow circular motion called precession, this cycle takes approximately 26,000 years, making the change negligible over short periods like a month or a year.
Key Takeaway:
The Earth's axis exhibits parallelism, meaning it remains permanently inclined in the same position relative to space and points towards the North Star throughout its annual revolution.