Prepare for the Shortest Day Ever: Scientists Predict Earth’s Rotation Will Speed Up in Just Weeks!

A scientist has raised an alarm: Earth’s rotation might be speeding up, leading us to the shortest days on record. Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London, mentions that we could see significant changes on July 9, July 22, or August 5, with days possibly becoming shorter by up to 1.51 milliseconds.

This slight change could impact various systems, such as GPS and satellite operations. “Nobody expected this,” notes Leonid Zotov from Moscow State University. The reasons behind this acceleration are still a puzzle. Since 2020, we’ve seen Earth rotating faster than usual, which contrasts with the previous trend of slowing down due to the moon’s gravitational pull.

Ordinarily, Earth completes a rotation in 24 hours, precisely 86,400 seconds. But even tiny shifts, measured in milliseconds, matter significantly. For instance, the fastest day recorded was on July 5, 2024, when we clocked 1.66 milliseconds faster than 24 hours.

Researchers believe that the speed oscillations can be triggered by natural events like earthquakes, ocean currents, or even climate changes. Melting glaciers and currents deep within the Earth can cause minor shifts in rotation speed. These variations position scientists to study the inner workings of our planet even more closely.

Scientists use atomic clocks, which are incredibly precise, to track Earth’s spin. They’ve noted a compelling pattern: starting from 2020, Earth consistently broke records for the shortest days. On July 19, 2020, it was 1.47 milliseconds short, and the trend continued into subsequent years.

The world measures time using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Occasionally, we add a leap second to keep our clocks in sync with Earth. If Earth’s rotation keeps accelerating, experts might need to consider removing a second—something that has never been done before.

Historically, this is fascinating. Billions of years ago, Earth spun so quickly that a day was only a few hours long. The moon’s pull gradually slowed our rotation, which gave us the 24-hour day we know today. Now, something may be reversing this trend, but current models of ocean and atmospheric behavior can’t fully explain these rapid changes.

Jones and Zotov agree that this situation warrants close monitoring. While we may not know the exact reasons for the acceleration right now, the science community is diving into research to uncover the mysteries of our planet’s spinning behavior. The implications could be vast, affecting everything from technology to our understanding of Earth itself.



Source link

dailymail,sciencetech,Earth