Earth sets new record for shortest day!

Hyderabad: Did you know yesterday i.e., July 29 was 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours? Yes, the Earth has recorded its shortest day since scientists began using atomic clocks to measure its rotational speed. Scientists point out that the length of day is the time it takes for planet Earth to rotate once on its […]

Hyderabad: Did you know yesterday i.e., July 29 was 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours? Yes, the Earth has recorded its shortest day since scientists began using atomic clocks to measure its rotational speed.

Scientists point out that the length of day is the time it takes for planet Earth to rotate once on its axis. It usually takes 86,400 seconds (24 hours) for the process.

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When the length of day is rising, the Earth is spinning more slowly. When it is decreasing and becomes a negative number, the Earth is spinning more quickly.

So why is earth in a hurry?

Scientists point out that in recent years, the Earth has been speeding up. The shortest day of all in 2020 was – 1.47 milliseconds on July 19.

The Earth continued to spin quickly in 2021, although the shortest day of the year in 2021 was fractionally longer than in 2020.

Now, in 2022, things have speeded up again. On June 29, the Earth set a new record for the shortest day of the atomic-clock era – 1.59 milliseconds.

However, scientists are yet to find out why this is happening with the planet and if it could be related to processes in the Earth’s inner or outer layers, oceans, tides, or even climate.