Earth itself could set a new world record. Scientists who study the rotation of the Earth have confirmed that June 29th is the shortest day on record. Once the Earth makes one complete revolution on her axis, the speed of her rotation (about 24 hours with slight variations) determines the length of her day. But on June 29, the Earth rotated a little faster than usual, shortening the day by 1.59 milliseconds.
This news is historic, but rightly so. Since the 1960s, astronomers have used atomic clocks to record the Earth’s rotation. In 1987, the International Astronomical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics established the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems service to monitor the rotation of the Earth and maintain Earth time. However, in recent years they have observed a peculiar pattern. The rotation of the earth is getting faster and faster. In 2020, our planet had the shortest 28 days on record. On July 19, 2020, midnight was 1.47 milliseconds earlier than expected. Although 2021 was slightly longer than he was in 2020, the Earth’s rotation speed did not slow down in he 2021.
2022 is also becoming speedy. June 29th wasn’t the only day that passed unusually quickly. On July 26, the planet reached midnight, 1.50 milliseconds ahead of schedule. And if the planet continues to spin faster, it could break that record again in the near future.
[Related: What if the speed of Earth’s rotation suddenly got faster?]
Why is Earth in a hurry? Astronomers don’t yet have an answer to this question, but there are several theories. are expected to discuss how is related to a phenomenon called “Chandler Wobble”.
The Chandler wobble contains small, erratic movements that cause small changes in the Earth’s rotational spin. It’s like the jiggling motion of a toy spinning top as it begins to slow down. On Earth, pressure changes in the atmosphere and ocean floor are thought to cause wobble, which shifts the Earth’s axis of rotation. “The normal amplitude of the Chandler wobble is about 3-4 meters at the Earth’s surface, but from 2017 he disappeared through 2020,” said Leonid Zotov, an astronomer at the International Astronomical Union. . date and time. Other theories behind changes in the Earth’s rotational speed involve the loss of polar weight due to melting glaciers, seismic activity, and changes in the molten core inside.
You may not be aware that June 29th is midnight early. You can’t count in milliseconds. But computers can, and astronomers are concerned that as the Earth’s rotation continues to spin faster, it could affect how those machines track time. Communication devices such as smartphones and personal computers use atomic clocks, so if the rotation speed increases, the functions will deteriorate and become unusable.
International timekeepers have dabbled in the idea of making the leap seconds negative at the end of December. The idea is to subtract his one second from the clock to synchronize time with the rotation of the Earth. However, not everyone is in favor of this proposal. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, published a blog post on his July 25th claim that negative leap seconds were an outdated idea of his in the 1970s, and that today’s data would crash his programs and technology. I’m here.
It’s not even clear to experts whether the Earth will eventually slow down or continue to soar. “He thinks there’s a 70% chance that we’re at the bare minimum. [length of day]said Zotov date and time“And you don’t need negative leap seconds.”
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