Scientists report that the days on Earth are longer because of the Moon – Enseñame de Ciencia

As is known, the Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth and is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system. It is located at an average distance of 384,400 km from Earth and has a diameter of about 3,474 km, which is quite an insignificant size. The Moon takes about 27.3 days to revolve around the Earth and has a synchronous rotation, which means that it always faces the Earth in the same way.

Moon traces

Our natural satellite has a huge impact on the Earth and life on it. Because its gravity causes oceanic and terrestrial tides, its presence in the night sky has been the subject of magic and myth in many human cultures. The moon has also been a subject of scientific studies and space exploration, and has been visited by humans on several occasions, the last time being in 1972 during the UAE’s Apollo 17 mission. a potfor which there is evidence to support this task.

According to astronomers, when the Earth was very young, the days lasted only 13 hours, but due to the influence of the Moon, the days were longer on Earth.

Scientists from the University of London (England) confirmed that the moon made life evolve as we know it, due to the gravitational relationship it exerts on our planet and this, in addition to that, made the days longer. This process is ongoing. for millions of years.

Moon video from Apollo 13, NASA:

The moon makes the days longer

The duration of the days of each planet varies according to its size and the distance that the days on Earth last for 24 hours. However, the tides are like a bulge of water that extends in an ellipsoid shape on our planet, and the high and low tides are evidence of how the Moon “pulls the Earth,” as stated. Richard GrayHe is a science journalist for the BBC.

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However, the Earth rotates on its axis faster than the Moon, so friction is generated in the ocean basins, which, according to geologists, are moving below the surface. This bulge has an acceleration greater than our satellite’s rotation, causing it to try to make up the difference.

After millions of years, this caused our planet’s rotation energy to run out and caused the earth’s rotation speed to decrease, which in simpler words means the moon caused the days to lengthen

Why don’t we realize?

This phenomenon happened very slowly, which is almost undetectable for living beings and humans, but this made the days last longer. For example, there is data that from the year 1600 to today, the duration of sine days is only 1.09 milliseconds.

on the moon

The moon has a surface covered with craters, mountains, plains and valleys. Craters are the most common feature on the Moon and are the result of the impacts of meteorites and asteroids. The highest mountains on the Moon are the Apennines, which rise to about 5,000 meters above the surface of the Moon. There are also many lunar plains called maria which consist of solidified lava.

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