The shortest day of your life is coming soon, here's how
The shortest day of our lives is coming soon! Yes, you read that right. Earth is soon going to spin its fastest day yet and the reason is still unknown.
On July 9, 22 or August 5, Earth might complete the fastest spin on its axis ever recorded, even breaking 2024's record, as per Graham Jones, an astrophysicist writing for a website named Time and Date.
According to the website, the planet spins faster when the Moon's orbit takes it significantly north or south relative to the equator. The difference in the speed of the spins is infinitesimal and scientists employ an extremely precise atomic clock to measure the length of the day (LOD) in milliseconds that are longer or shorter than 24 hours.
Since 2020, each year there has been a shortest recorded LOD ever since the records began in 1973.
In 2024, on July 5th, the speed was -1.66 ms, which is the current record holder. This year the shortest day of the year is expected to occur on July 9, 22 or August 5 when the Moon will be close to its farthest point from the equator.
Image credits: Getty Images
According to Leonid Zotov, an expert on Earth rotation from the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics, the cause of the acceleration of Earth for one day is not explained.
'Most scientists believe it is something inside the Earth.
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Ocean and atmospheric models don't explain this huge acceleration,' he said to the website.
On the contrary, the Moon has actually been slowing Earth's rotation for billions of years. About 4.5 billion years ago, Earth's day only lasted from 3-6 hours. The tidal forces caused by the Moon are one of the reasons why the planet has lost momentum over the years, along with the fact that the Moon absorbs part of Earth's rotational energy.
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