Latest news with #GrahamJones
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Is Earth's rotation speeding up? Why this July day may be shortest so far in 2025
Does it feel like there's not enough time in the day for everything? Well, that could be because some upcoming days are actually getting shorter. In fact, today might just be the shortest day you'll ever experience. Ok, maybe it won't be short enough for anyone to actually notice, but every millisecond counts, right? As much as a millisecond or more could be shaved off the clock on Wednesday, July 9, on account of how the moon's position relative to Earth is influencing our planet's rotation. Here's what to know about why Earth's rotation is speeding up, and how it will shorten three days this summer. Is Earth's rotation speeding up? Earth takes 24 hours to complete a full rotation in a standard day, equal to exactly 86,400 seconds. If a standard day is shortened or lengthened by a number of milliseconds, that added or detracted time is referred to as "length of day," according to the website TimeAndDate. Until 2020, the shortest "length of day" ever recorded by atomic clocks was -1.05 ms, meaning that Earth completed one daily rotation in 1.05 milliseconds less than 86,400 seconds. "Since then, however, Earth has managed to shatter this old record every year by around half a millisecond," astrophysicist Graham Jones wrote for TimeAndDate. That culminated on July 5, 2023 with the shortest day of all time, with a "length of day" of -1.66 ms, according to Jones. While the variations are expected, recent research suggests that human activity is also contributing to Earth's changing rotation. Researchers at NASA calculated that dwindling ice and groundwater and rising seas has actually increased the length of our days since 2000 by 1.33 milliseconds per century. Will the Earth spin faster July 9? Is July 9 the shortest day? Scientists anticipate that Earth's rotation will quicken enough to create three shorter days between July and August. The first is Wednesday, July 9, which will have a predicted -1.30 ms "length of day," according to TimeAndDate. The next two shortened days, though, will be be even more truncated. Scientists predicted a -1.38 ms "length of day" July 22, and a -1.51 ms "length of day" Aug. 5. On these days, the moon will be at its furthest from the Earth's equator, changing its gravitational pull and causing our planet to spin just a tiny bit faster on its axis, according to science news website LiveScience. Will the sped-up day be noticeable? Of course, you're unlikely to notice such a miniscule difference in your standard 24-hour day. But scientists who track and operate atomic clocks may be facing a bit of a predicament. First introduced in the 1950s, atomic clocks replaced how scientists previously measured the length of a day by tracking the Earth's rotation and position of the sun. The clocks are also capable of measuring in billionths of a second, or nanoseconds, which are synchronized globally to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC.) If the clocks are thrown off even a tiny amount, it could also throw off computers, servers, GPS signals and other networks that rely on accurate times, David Gozzard, an experimental physicis at the University of Western Australia, told the Guardian. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Earth spinning faster? July 9, 2 other days may be shortest of 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Is Earth's rotation speeding up? July 22 will be second shortest day in history
Earlier this month, the Earth spun just a bit faster than usual on July 9 and is expected to do so again on July 22 and Aug. 5, according to the website TimeAndDate. Over a millisecond was reportedly shaved off the clock on July 9, but the shortest day out of all three predicted will be in August. This shortening is due to the moon's position relative to Earth and its influence on the planet's rotation. Here's what to know about why Earth's rotation is speeding up, and how it is shortening three days this summer. Is Earth's rotation speeding up? Earth takes 24 hours to complete a full rotation in a standard day, equal to exactly 86,400 seconds. If a standard day is shortened or lengthened by a number of milliseconds, that added or detracted time is referred to as "length of day," according to the website TimeAndDate. Until 2020, the shortest "length of day" ever recorded by atomic clocks was -1.05 ms, meaning that Earth completed one daily rotation in 1.05 milliseconds less than 86,400 seconds. "Since then, however, Earth has managed to shatter this old record every year by around half a millisecond," astrophysicist Graham Jones wrote for TimeAndDate. That culminated on July 5, 2023, with the shortest day of all time, with a "length of day" of -1.66 ms, according to Jones. While the variations are expected, recent research suggests that human activity is also contributing to Earth's changing rotation. Researchers at NASA calculated that dwindling ice and groundwater and rising seas have actually increased the length of our days since 2000 by 1.33 milliseconds per century . A photo of Earth rising over the moon's horizon taken in 1968 by astronaut Bill Anders How short will the day be on July 22 On July 22, scientists predicted a -1.38 ms "length of day." This is a little bit faster than July 9, , which had about a -1.30 ms "length of day," according to TimeAndDate. August 5 is expected to the most truncated at -1.51 ms "length of day." On these days, the moon will be at its furthest from the Earth's equator, changing its gravitational pull and causing our planet to spin just a tiny bit faster on its axis, according to science news website LiveScience. Will the sped-up day be noticeable? Of course, you're unlikely to notice such a minuscule difference in your standard 24-hour day. But scientists who track and operate atomic clocks may be facing a bit of a predicament. First introduced in the 1950s, atomic clocks replaced how scientists previously measured the length of a day by tracking the Earth's rotation and the position of the sun. The clocks are also capable of measuring in billionths of a second, or nanoseconds, which are synchronized globally to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC.) If the clocks are thrown off even a tiny amount, it could also throw off computers, servers, GPS signals, and other networks that rely on accurate times, David Gozzard, an experimental physicist at the University of Western Australia, told the Guardian. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Earth will spin faster today, creating second shortest day in history
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Is Earth's rotation speeding up? Why these 3 summer days may be shorter than usual
Earth spun just a bit faster than usual on July 9 and is expected to do so again on July 22 and Aug. 5, according to the website TimeAndDate. Over a millisecond was reportedly shaved off the clock on Wednesday, but the shortest day out of all three predicted will be in August. This shortening is due to the moon's position relative to Earth and its influence on the planet's rotation. Here's what to know about why Earth's rotation is speeding up, and how it is shortening three days this summer. Earth takes 24 hours to complete a full rotation in a standard day, equal to exactly 86,400 seconds. If a standard day is shortened or lengthened by a number of milliseconds, that added or detracted time is referred to as "length of day," according to the website TimeAndDate. Until 2020, the shortest "length of day" ever recorded by atomic clocks was -1.05 ms, meaning that Earth completed one daily rotation in 1.05 milliseconds less than 86,400 seconds. "Since then, however, Earth has managed to shatter this old record every year by around half a millisecond," astrophysicist Graham Jones wrote for TimeAndDate. That culminated on July 5, 2023, with the shortest day of all time, with a "length of day" of -1.66 ms, according to Jones. While the variations are expected, recent research suggests that human activity is also contributing to Earth's changing rotation. Researchers at NASA calculated that dwindling ice and groundwater and rising seas have actually increased the length of our days since 2000 by 1.33 milliseconds per century. Scientists have anticipated that Earth's rotation will quicken enough to create three shorter days between July and August. The first was Wednesday, July 9, which had about a -1.30 ms "length of day," according to TimeAndDate. The next two shortened days, though, will be even more truncated. Scientists predicted a -1.38 ms "length of day" July 22, and a -1.51 ms "length of day" Aug. 5. On these days, the moon will be at its furthest from the Earth's equator, changing its gravitational pull and causing our planet to spin just a tiny bit faster on its axis, according to science news website LiveScience. Of course, you're unlikely to notice such a minuscule difference in your standard 24-hour day. But scientists who track and operate atomic clocks may be facing a bit of a predicament. First introduced in the 1950s, atomic clocks replaced how scientists previously measured the length of a day by tracking the Earth's rotation and the position of the sun. The clocks are also capable of measuring in billionths of a second, or nanoseconds, which are synchronized globally to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC.) If the clocks are thrown off even a tiny amount, it could also throw off computers, servers, GPS signals, and other networks that rely on accurate times, David Gozzard, an experimental physicist at the University of Western Australia, told the Guardian. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Earth's rotation speed: These 3 summer days may be shorter than usual
Newsweek
10-07-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Earth's Rotation Sped Up on July 9—and We're Not Sure Exactly Why
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. If you've felt like summer days are flying by, you're not wrong—at least not scientifically. Experts have observed that Earth's rotation is speeding up, making some days slightly shorter than the standard 24 hours. On July 9, 2025, scientists at the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) reported that the Earth completed its rotation approximately 1.3 to 1.6 milliseconds faster than the standard 24-hour period. Moreover, this is expected to happen again on July 22 and August 5 this year. While the differences in time are imperceptible to humans, it's significant enough to raise eyebrows in the world of ultra-precise timekeeping. It takes Earth 24 hours, or 86,400 seconds, to make one full rotation around its axis, but Earth's rotation isn't perfectly constant. It speeds up and slows down due to a complex mix of factors, and scientists monitor these fluctuations using atomic clocks. These clocks are so accurate that they only lose or gain a second every 100 million years. Why is Earth spinning faster? "The causes of the recent acceleration are not fully understood," Astrophysicist Graham Jones told Newsweek. There's no single reason why Earth is spinning faster, but scientists point to several likely contributors. One major factor is the Moon. Earth's natural satellite exerts a powerful gravitational pull that generally slows our rotation over long timescales. But during certain points in the Moon's elliptical and tilted orbit, especially when it's farthest from Earth and at its steepest angle relative to the equator, lunar gravity can have a speeding effect. On the key dates this summer, the Moon will be near its farthest point and at a sharp orbital tilt—conditions that appear to align with these shorter days. Another key factor is the constant exchange of angular momentum between different parts of the Earth system. "If the atmosphere speeds up, the solid Earth slows down—and vice versa," geophysicist professor Richard Holme of the University of Liverpool told Newsweek. Over longer periods, similar exchanges occur between Earth's mantle and its fluid core. A file photo of a globe spinning. A file photo of a globe spinning. Stockbyte/Getty Images Other factors thought to impact the speed of the Earth's spin include geological activity, like earthquakes, which can redistribute the planet's mass and affect its spin, though there are no recent large quakes to link to this year's speed increase. Glaciers melting as a result of climate change can also shift water masses around the planet, altering Earth's axis, though this is usually expected to slow the planet's rotation rather than speed it up. "Studies support the idea that the redistribution of ice and water affects Earth's rotation, although this likely doesn't explain the recent acceleration," Jones said. What are the implications? It may sound like cosmic trivia, but the consequences of Earth's rotational changes are real. "If this faster rotation continues, a negative leap second may be required to keep our clocks in sync with the Sun. This would mean a second is skipped—there would be a minute with only 59 seconds," Jones explained. This would cause problems for global infrastructure like satellite navigation, military systems and global financial markets that rely on split-second precision. A mismatch between the planet's rotation and atomic time could wreak havoc on these networks. "For navigation, GPS is corrected for position for an offset caused by a cumulative effect of change in rotation rate. For timekeeping systems, there is mention of possibly adopting a negative leap second—an extra (or in this case, one fewer) second in the day to make sure we line up again," Holme said. To date, all adjustments to time have involved adding a leap second. But if Earth's current acceleration continues, scientists may soon need to subtract one instead, a move that could pose new challenges for timekeeping systems and software. Is Earth speeding up? The shorter days noticed by scientists have sparked interest, but in general, the Earth is slowing in rotation. "There were 400 days in a year 300 million years ago, for about the same length of year," Holme explained. "Overall, the Earth's rotation is slowing," Jones agreed. "But within this overall pattern, there are ups and downs in Earth's rotational speed." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about Earth's rotation? Let us know via science@
The South African
10-07-2025
- Science
- The South African
Here's why Wednesday may have been the shortest day of your life
Wednesday, 9 July could have been the shortest day of your life – literally. Earth's rotation has been accelerating, and this week's date is among several projected to be fractions of a millisecond shorter than usual. Atomic clock measurements show that 9 July, 22 July and 5 August are expected to be between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than the standard 24-hour day – an unusual but increasingly frequent phenomenon. The shortest day on record occurred on 5 July 2024, when Earth completed its rotation 1.66 milliseconds faster than the standard solar day of 86 400 seconds. While the cause isn't fully understood, scientists say the acceleration could be influenced by several natural forces: Melting glaciers , shifting mass away from the poles , shifting mass away from the poles Changes in atmospheric pressure and wind patterns Motion in Earth's molten core A weakening magnetic field According to Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London, and data from the US Naval Observatory, the Earth's Length of Day (LOD) is being monitored to millisecond accuracy by atomic clocks, which track the vibrations of atoms to keep time. 'Earth's spin is like a figure skater – when mass is pulled in, it spins faster,' explained Richard Holme, a geophysicist at the University of Liverpool. Seasonal changes in mass distribution – like trees leafing out during northern summers – can also subtly shift the planet's rotational balance. Although these time differences are imperceptible to humans, they have critical implications for: GPS navigation systems Telecommunications Financial transaction timing Satellite operations Tiny time discrepancies can lead to technical glitches in highly synchronised systems. Traditionally, scientists adjust for Earth's slower spin by occasionally adding a leap second to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). But if Earth's faster spin continues, we may eventually need to remove a second – creating a 'negative leap second' for the first time in history. Ironically, while Earth's spin has sped up in recent years, long-term trends predict the opposite. The moon's gravitational pull is slowly causing Earth to spin more slowly. According to geoscientist Stephen Meyers, Earth days could stretch to 25 hours – but not for another 200 million years. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
