New Study Reveals that the Moon is Making Days Longer on Earth
For anyone who has ever wished there were more hours in the day, geoscientists have some fascinating news: days on Earth are gradually getting longer. This revelation comes from a groundbreaking study that reconstructs the deep history of our planet’s relationship with the moon. Astonishingly, 1.4 billion years ago, a day on Earth lasted just over 18 hours. This change is partially due to the moon being closer to Earth back then, significantly influencing our planet’s rotation. Stephen Meyers, a professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and co-author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains the phenomenon using an analogy. “As the moon moves away, the Earth is like a spinning figure skater who slows down as they stretch their arms out,” he says. This analogy helps illustrate how the increasing distance of the moon from Earth affects our planet’s rotation. The study utilizes a novel tool, a ...
