Scientists confirm Earth’s days are getting longer — here’s what it could mean for the future of life on our planet
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We all know the drill: 24 hours in a day, right? Always has been, always will be. Except… scientists now say that’s not exactly true. And in a few hundred million years (give or take), a day on Earth could stretch out to 25 hours.
It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s real — and the story behind it is even more fascinating than you might think.
Why Earth’s day isn’t truly 24 hours long
Here’s the thing: even today, a ‘true’ day — known as a sidereal day — is actually a tiny bit shorter than 24 hours. It clocks in at about 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. The 24-hour cycle we live by is a bit of a convenient illusion, tied to how the Earth spins in relation to the Sun.
But that spin isn’t exactly steady. Earth’s rotation is constantly being nudged, slowed and tweaked by outside forces. You don’t notice it day-to-day (thankfully!), but over millions of years, those tiny changes pile up — and that’s where things get interesting.
How the Moon and other forces are slowing Earth’s rotation
One of the main reasons our planet is slowing down is the Moon. Yep, the same Moon you see glowing over the rooftops at night is slowly putting the brakes on Earth’s spin. The Moon’s gravitational pull causes ocean tides, and those tides act like a giant cosmic hand gently dragging Earth’s rotation.
But that’s not all. Changes deep inside the Earth, shifts in the planet’s molten core, melting polar ice caps, and even big gusts of wind high in the atmosphere — they all play a tiny part in tweaking how fast (or slow) our planet turns.
If you could jump back a few billion years, you’d find Earth spinning so fast that a full day zipped by in just 10 hours. So in a way, the clock’s been ticking slower for a very long time.
Earth’s rotation could lead to 25-hour days — but not anytime soon
The researchers from the Technical University of Munich reckon that if things keep going the way they are, a full Earth day could last 25 hours… but not until about 200 million years from now. So there’s no need to reset your alarm clock just yet.
Still, if it did happen, it would shake up a lot more than just our watches. Think about it — everything from our sleep cycles to school timetables, working hours, and even farming would have to adjust to a new rhythm.
And it’s not just humans who’d feel it. Animals, plants, even the way we measure a year would be thrown a little off-balance. Life on Earth would need a full schedule makeover.
Of course, it’s all way, way down the road. But it’s a good reminder that nothing on Earth — not even time itself — is carved in stone.
Because if there’s one thing our planet loves to do, it’s keep changing the rules.
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