Earth Is Predicted To Spin A Little Faster On Three Days In July And August

Earth's rotation is expected to speed up in July and August this year, resulting in shorter days. Specifically, July 9, July 22, and August 5 are predicted to be the shortest days, according to a new report from timeanddate.com. However, the shortening of days will be subtle, with milliseconds being the unit of measurement. For example, August 5 is predicted to be around 1.51 milliseconds shorter than average. 

Notably, the Earth rotates just over 365 times on its axis, which are number of days in a year. But this was not the case always, as various calculations have suggested that the number of days it took Earth to go around the Sun in the past has ranged from around 490 to 372 days.

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Scientists believe several factors could contribute to this acceleration. The movements within the Earth's core could be influencing the planet's rotation. The redistribution of mass from melting glaciers might also be playing a role. El Nino and La Nina events, which redistribute mass around the globe, could also impact the Earth's rotation. The moon could also be responsible. The Timeanddate.com report mentioned that the Moon will be around its maximum distance from Earth's equator on the three possible dates for the shortest length of day (LOD) in 2025.

Judah Levine, a physicist in the time and frequency division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, told Discover Magazine in 2021, "This lack of the need for leap seconds was not predicted."

"The assumption was, in fact, that Earth would continue to slow down and leap seconds would continue to be needed. And so this effect, this result, is very surprising."

The faster rotation might require adjustments to global timekeeping, potentially leading to the subtraction of a leap second for the first time ever in 2029.

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"Nobody expected this," Leonid Zotov, expert on Earth rotation at Moscow State University, told Timeanddate.com. "The cause of this acceleration is not explained."

He added, "Most scientists believe it is something inside the Earth. Ocean and atmospheric models don't explain this huge acceleration."