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Earth days will eventually last 25 hours, as scientists reveal when that will happen – and say they used to last 10 hours

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The length of a day on Earth will eventually extend to 25 hours, but scientists say that should come as no surprise.

Although it may be millions of years before another time is set, Earth’s days have been lengthening for years.

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The length of a day on Earth will eventually increase to 25 hours, but scientists say this length has been growing for centuries.Credit: Getty

In fact, they’re getting longer by about 1.8 milliseconds per century, according to Earth Datea public radio program created by the University of Texas at Austin.

This is an increase of one minute every 3.3 million years, meaning it could take 200 million years before another hour is added to the day.

It appears that the Moon is to blame, as the friction produced by the tides has slowed the Earth’s rotation over time.

As the Earth rotates on its axis, this determines the amount of sunlight that passes through its face and, in turn, the length of the days.

But the Moon’s gravity pulls on the side of Earth that is closest to it, creating tides and causing the planet to swell.

Because the Earth rotates faster than the Moon orbits it, the so-called “tidal bulge” travels ahead of the Moon’s relative position.

This lump pulls the Moon forward, causing friction along the sea floor that makes it difficult for the planet to rotate.

SLOW DOWN!

Scientists say the slowing of days has been observed for centuries.

“The change in Earth’s rotation rate is happening gradually enough that evolutionary processes can adapt to changes over time,” said Konstantin Batygin, professor of planetary sciences at Caltech. Living Science.

In fact, the length of days has varied for years, and a billion years ago, a day only lasted about 19 hours.

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“The relative change in orbital velocity would not be noticeable in daily life,” explained Batygin.

When days are expected to be 25 hours long, there would be 350 days in a year instead of 365 days.

The length of a year is determined by the number of Earth rotations that occur during a solar orbit.

As the planet circles the Sun in an almost circular path, it rotates around its own axis 365.25 times per sidereal year.

So called "tidal bulges" are slowing the Earth's rotation, as well as factors such as melting polar ice caps and subsequent sea level rise

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So-called “tidal bulges” are slowing the Earth’s rotation, as are factors such as melting polar ice caps and subsequent sea level rise.Credit: Getty

This term denotes when the Sun and Earth return to the same place in space relative to the stars.

The extra quarter rotation each year explains the quadrennial leap year, which keeps us in sync with the sun.

Despite longer days, the Earth has been spinning faster than ever since March 2011, when an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck Japan.

The seismic event accelerated the Earth’s rotation and shortened the length of the day by 1.8 microseconds.

A timeline of life on Earth

A timeline of life on Earth

The history of the planet in years…

  • 4.6 billion years ago – the origin of the Earth
  • 3.8 billion years ago – the first life appeared on Earth
  • 2.1 billion years ago – life forms made up of multiple cells evolved
  • 1.5 billion years ago – eukaryotes emerged, which are cells that contain a nucleus within their membranes
  • 550 million years ago – the first arthropods evolved
  • 530 million years ago – the first fish appeared
  • 470 million years ago – the first land plants appear
  • 380 million years ago – forests appeared on Earth
  • 370 million years ago – the first amphibians emerge from the water onto land
  • 320 million years ago – the first reptiles evolved
  • 230 million years ago – dinosaurs evolved
  • 200 million years ago – mammals appear
  • 150 million years ago – the first birds evolved
  • 130 million years ago – first flowering plants
  • 100 million years ago – the first bees
  • 55 million years ago – hares and rabbits appear
  • 30 million years ago – the first cats evolved
  • 20 million years ago – great primates evolved
  • 7 million years ago – the first human ancestors appear
  • 2 million years ago – Homo erectus appears
  • 300,000 years ago – Homo sapiens evolves
  • 50,000 years ago – Eurasia and Oceania colonized
  • 40,000 years ago – Neandethal extinction



This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story

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