Encounter News: The Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing down. About 1 to 2 billion years ago, a day used to be just 19 hours long, mainly because the moon was very close to Earth and its gravitational effect was very strong. Even in 2020, scientists have recorded the Earth’s rotation faster than at any time since the 1970s.
The Earth is spinning fast and because of this the days are getting shorter. A report claims that in the coming weeks the Earth will rotate faster than usual, making the days a little shorter. Live Science has given this information according to the report of scientists that the position of the moon on July 9, July 22 and August 5 will affect the rotation of the Earth, making every day shorter by 1.3 to 1.51 milliseconds from 24 hours.
Normally, a day on Earth is about 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours, but according to science news portal Live Science, Earth’s rotation is not constant; it is also affected by many factors, including the gravitational force of the moon and sun, the planet’s magnetic field, and changes in Earth’s mass due to natural or human activities. However, over the next few weeks, days on Earth will become slightly shorter due to a change in the moon’s position.
How many hours were in a day millions of years ago
Historically, Earth’s rotation has gradually slowed down. About 1 to 2 billion years ago, a day used to be only 19 hours, mainly because the moon was much closer to Earth and had a greater gravitational effect. Studies have also shown that in the time of Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived about 70 million years ago, the average daily rotation may have been about 23 1/2 hours. Then over time, as the moon moved farther away from Earth, the days became longer.
This week has seen the shortest days of the year so far. According to data released on Friday by the US Naval Observatory and the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, the Earth’s rotation on Wednesday was about 1.34 milliseconds less than 24 hours. According to forecasts by the Time and Date website, the Earth’s rotation is expected to speed up further later this month and early August.
The shortest day was recorded in July last year
Specifically, in 2020, scientists recorded the Earth’s rotation faster than at any time since the 1970s. The shortest day ever recorded was on July 5, 2024, which was 1.66 milliseconds shorter than normal.
However, this is not a completely unusual process. In recent times, these rotations have been faster than normal. The average day size has become slightly shorter over the past decade. In the past 5 years, sometimes the rotation has been completed in less than 24 hours.
However, the process of days getting longer will not last long.
Over the next few days, the distance of the moon from the Earth’s equator may increase the speed of the planet’s rotation, just as a spinning top spins faster when it turns on its axis. Climate changes, such as melting ice and groundwater flow, have also caused changes in the Earth’s rotation. Even earthquakes and seasonal changes can affect the length of days.
However, it is also worth noting that long-term trends do not indicate that days will always get shorter. In fact, it is the opposite as days have only gotten longer over millions of years.
Clark R. Wilson, research professor at the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin, claimed that this trend of days getting longer is expected to continue, although the process is so slow that its rate is “far beyond human time scales.”
