The Earth will complete a complete rotation in a little less time than usual on Tuesday, July 22, which makes it the most registered days.
The difference will be only 1.34 milliseconds less than the standard 24 hours, not something that will notice, but it is part of a disconcerting tendency in the behavior of rotation of the earth that has been developed in recent years. If it continues, a second may need to be subtracted from atomic watches around 2029, a negative jump in second place, which has never been done before.
The speed of Earth’s rotation is not fixed. A long time ago, one day was much shorter than 24 hours, or 86,400 seconds, now we have drums. According to a study of 2023, one day on Earth was approximately 19 hours for an important part of the early history of the Earth, due to the balance between the solar atmospheric tides and the lunar ocean tides. However, about deep time, one day on earth has become constantly longer. The main culprit has been the friction of the moon tide, which has made it gradually move away from the earth. As the moon moves, the rotational energy of the Earth, which makes the rotation of the Earth be lent and extend days.
So why the sudden reverse?
Since the records began (with the invention of the atomic clock) in 1973 to 2020, the shortest day ever registered was 1.05 milliseconds less than 24 hours, according to Timeanddate.com. But since 2020, the earth has repeatedly broken its own speed records. The shortest day ever measured in July 5, 2024When the earth’s rotation was completed 1.66 milliseconds Faster than usual.
Looking to the future until 2025, scientists predicted that on July 9, July 22 and August 5, they could be the shortest days of the year. However, the new data suggest that the July 10 leadership as the shortest day so far in 2025, in 1.36 milliseconds less than 24 hours. On July 22, the Earth is expected to complete its turn 1.34 milliseconds early, so it is a second place. If the current predictions are maintained, on August 5 it will be approximately 1.25 milliseconds shorter than usual, leaving on July 22 as the second lowest day of the year.
There are signs that acceleration can be decreasing. The rate of decrease in the duration of the day seems to be slowing down, but the underlying cause of recent rotation changes is still difficult to achieve.
A 2024 study suggested that fusion polar ice and the level of sea increase may be influencing the earth’s turn. However, instead of promoting acceleration, this redistribution of the mass could be moderating. A more likely guilty is deep under the feet: the deceleration of the liquid nucleus of the earth, which could redistribute the angular momentum in a way that makes the mantle and the cortex turn a little faster.
“The cause of this acceleration is not explained,” Leonid Zotov told Timeandate.com, a leading authority in Earth’s rotation at Moscow State University. “Most scientists believe it is something inside the earth. Oceanic and atmospheric models do not explain this enormous acceleration.”
Zotov predicts that earth’s rotation can soon be died once more. If you are right, this sauce acceleration could only be a temporary anomaly in the long -term trend of the planet towards a slower rotation and longer days.
