Earth Is Predicted To Spin A Little Faster On Three Days In July And August
Notably, the Earth rotates just over 365 times on its axis, which are number of days in a year. But this was not the case always, as various calculations have suggested that the number of days it took Earth to go around the Sun in the past has ranged from around 490 to 372 days.
Scientists believe several factors could contribute to this acceleration. The movements within the Earth's core could be influencing the planet's rotation. The redistribution of mass from melting glaciers might also be playing a role. El Nino and La Nina events, which redistribute mass around the globe, could also impact the Earth's rotation.
Judah Levine, a physicist in the time and frequency division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, told Discover Magazine in 2021, "This lack of the need for leap seconds was not predicted."
"The assumption was, in fact, that Earth would continue to slow down and leap seconds would continue to be needed. And so this effect, this result, is very surprising."
The faster rotation might require adjustments to global timekeeping, potentially leading to the subtraction of a leap second for the first time ever in 2029.
"Nobody expected this," Leonid Zotov, expert on Earth rotation at Moscow State University, told Timeanddate.com. "The cause of this acceleration is not explained."
He added, "Most scientists believe it is something inside the Earth. Ocean and atmospheric models don't explain this huge acceleration."
The Timeanddate.com report mentioned that the Moon will be around its maximum distance from Earth's equator on the three possible dates for the shortest length of day (LOD) in 2025.
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Indian Express
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Time of India
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Indian Express
2 days ago
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5th July was the shortest day this year. Why is the Earth spinning faster this month?
The Earth spun faster this month, recording the shortest day this year on July 10. The world is set to witness similar events on Tuesday (July 22) and next month (August 5). According to data from the Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the US Naval Observatory, reported by CNN, the Earth recorded its shortest day on July 10, by completing a full rotation faster by a fraction of a second (1.36 milliseconds). Until 2020, the shortest day ever recorded was -1.05 ms, which means the Earth completed its rotation in 1.05 milliseconds less than 24 hours. The Earth has been consistently crossing this number since then, recording its shortest day ever on July 5 (-1.66 ms). The Earth takes 24 hours to rotate on its axis, a period known as 'Length of Day' or LOD. The LOD may vary by a time frame as unnoticeable as a millisecond (0.001 seconds or 1 ms), and these variations are recorded using devices known as atomic clocks. The variation in LOD depends on several factors, including the position of the Moon with respect to the Earth's equator, the oceans, and the atmosphere. The Moon's gravitational pull influences the Earth's rotation speed — it is slower when the satellite is closer to the equator and faster when it's at latitudes farther away from it. The atmosphere slows down due to seasonal changes, and the Earth compensates for it by rotating faster, as the combined angular momentum of Earth and its atmosphere must remain constant. As per the same principle, the slowdown of Earth's liquid core has caused the solid Earth around it to speed up. One reason the trend of faster days has drawn attention is the concept of the 'leap second.' For several decades, Earth was known to be slowing down, making days marginally longer. This led to adjustments, known as the positive leap seconds, being made to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to slow down the atomic clock and keep it in sync with the phenomenon. This has happened 27 times since 1972. With the Earth currently recording faster rotations than it used to, the atomic time may need adjustments in the opposite direction by removing a second, called a negative leap second. This has never happened before. Since so many global systems — including telecommunications, financial transactions, and GPS satellites — depend on accurate timekeeping, it could lead to disruptions akin to the Y2K problem. Hence, scientists are closely monitoring the shortening of days.
