Space Daily·3 min read·medium
The 24-hour day is not fixed but slowly stretching, and in the dinosaurs' time it was shorter: the Moon's pull is gently braking Earth's spin, so a day back then ran about 23.5 hours, and far shorter
M
Mal James
✦AI Summary
Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down due to the Moon's gravitational pull, causing days to lengthen by approximately 1.8 milliseconds per century. This long-term process is influenced by tidal friction and geological shifts, meaning the length of a day is not a fixed constant.
The Moon is slowly stealing Earth's rotational energy, making each day microscopically longer—a process that has been stretching time since the planet's formation and will continue long after humans are gone.
scienceenvironment
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