59
Earth is going to spin much faster over the next few months โ€” so fast that several days are going to get shorter (www.livescience.com)
submitted 4 days ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/earthscience@mander.xyz
12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Earth is expected to spin more quickly in the coming weeks, making some of our days unusually short. On July 9, July 22 and Aug. 5, the position of the moon is expected to affect Earth's rotation so that each day is between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than normal.

A day on Earth is the length of time needed for our planet to fully rotate on its axis โ€” approximately 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours. But Earth's rotation is affected by a number of things, including the positions of the sun and moon, changes to Earth's magnetic field, and the balance of mass on the planet.

Since the relatively early days of our planet, Earth's rotation has been slowing down, making our days longer. Researchers found that about 1 billion to 2 billion years ago, a day on Earth was only 19 hours long. This is likely because the moon was closer to our planet, making its gravitational pull stronger than it is now and causing Earth to spin faster on its axis.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] catty@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

don't get computerphile started!

this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
59 points (92.8% liked)

Earth, Environment, and Geosciences

2549 readers
6 users here now

Welcome to c/EarthScience @ Mander.xyz!

Notice Board

This is a work in progress, please don't mind the mess.

What is geoscience?

Geoscience (also called Earth Science) is the study of Earth. Geoscience includes so much more than rocks and volcanoes, it studies the processes that form and shape Earth's surface, the natural resources we use, and how water and ecosystems are interconnected. Geoscience uses tools and techniques from other science fields as well, such as chemistry, physics, biology, and math! Read more...

Quick Facts

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.

Jobs

Teaching Resources

Tools

Climate

Similar Communities

Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Plants & Gardening

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Memes

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
fossilesque@mander.xyz
mishathings@mander.xyz
notsofunnycomment@mander.xyz
SciBot@mander.xyz
troyunrau@lemmy.ca