When is earth fastest

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Durango Herald The Journal. Instagram RSS Alexa. Subscribe Sign up for our daily email newsletter or to receive breaking news delivered to your inbox: Customize your subscription:. Breaking News. Account info Name: Screen name: Email:. Manage Account Logout. Several decades ago, the development of atomic clocks began allowing scientists to record the passage of time in incredibly small increments, in turn, allowing for measuring the length of a given day down to the millisecond.

And that has led to the discovery that the spin of the planet is actually far more variable than once thought. Since such measurements began, scientists have also found that the Earth was slowing its spin very gradually compensated by the insertion of a leap second now and then —until this past year, when it began spinning faster—so much so that some in the field have begun to wonder if a negative leap negative second might be needed this year, an unprecedented suggestion. Scientists also noted that this past summer, on July 19, the shortest day ever was recorded—it was 1.

Planetary scientists are not concerned about the new finding; they have learned that there are many factors that have an impact on planetary spin—including the moon's pull, snowfall levels and mountain erosion. They also have begun wondering if global warming might push the Earth to spin faster as the snow caps and high-altitude snows begin disappearing.

Computer scientists, on the other hand, are somewhat concerned about the shifting spin speed—so much of modern technology is based on what they describe as "true time. Explore further. More from Earth Sciences. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page.

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However, global warming may speed things up again. As sea levels rise, this change in mass could result in Earth spinning faster and reducing the length of each day by 0. Without a huge external force, this is impossible. Each side of the planet would get six months of continuous sunlight and six months of darkness. Ad Choices. Report a digital subscription issue If you are being blocked from reading Subscriber Exclusive content, first confirm you are logged in using the account with which you subscribed.

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