Did the earth really spin faster?
You may have learned that the earth takes 365 days to travel around the sun. This is how we complete a year. You may have also learned that the earth takes 24 hours to take a full spin on its axis. This is what causes light during the day and darkness at night. But, this week, something different happened! The earth took less than 24 hours to take a spin. That day is now the shortest day in history!
Woah! How did this happen?
On 29th July 2022, the Earth completed a full rotation 1.59 milliseconds faster than it normally does. A millisecond is much smaller than even a second. This means that our day was shorter and we didn’t even notice! Did you know that we have had many shorter days before too? There is one every 2-3 years.
What could have caused the earth to rotate faster?
Scientists aren’t sure why the earth is spinning faster. Some believe that the reason could be linked to climate change. Others believe that it could be caused by something out of our control, such as the change in the sudden waves of the ocean.
So who’s recording the speed of the earth’s rotations?
Did you know that there are special groups that record how fast the earth spins? One such group is called the International Earth Rotation Service. They record time using special clocks. These clocks can record the smallest of seconds.
What does this mean for us?
You may be asking yourself - ‘Are a few seconds really that important?’ Yes, even a few milliseconds are important.
Special clocks used by scientists are telling us that the Earth's rotation is getting faster! For the next 50 years, we may be seeing many more shorter days.
If our days are shorter by a few milliseconds everyday, can you imagine how short they might become in the next hundred years?
