Earth's Days Could Reach 25 Hours in 200 Million Years as Moon's Gravity Slows Spin
Updated
Updated · ECOticias · May 31
Earth's Days Could Reach 25 Hours in 200 Million Years as Moon's Gravity Slows Spin
5 articles · Updated · ECOticias · May 31
About 200 million years is the rough timescale scientists give for Earth to reach 25-hour days, making the shift real but far beyond any practical human impact.
The Moon drives that slowdown: its gravity raises ocean tides, and friction between tidal bulges, oceans and the seafloor drains a tiny amount of Earth's rotational energy.
Astronomers track the change with atomic clocks, eclipse records and Earth-orientation measurements, while leap seconds have been used to keep civil time aligned with the planet's uneven spin.
Climate-driven mass shifts can also lengthen days on tiny scales; a recent study estimated global warming is adding about 1.33 milliseconds per century.
As Earth’s spin slows, are our navigation and weather systems prepared for the cascading effects on planetary forces?
Humanity's climate impact now rivals a magnitude-9 earthquake. What other fundamental planetary systems are we unknowingly altering?