After Billion Years, Turns Out Earth Had 19-hours a Day
- Pixabay/Steven Goddard
The Moon's gravitational pull controls the tides on Earth, slowing down the planet's rotation.
However, the Sun also exerts a gravitational pull in the form of solar atmospheric tides that occur when the Sun's rays heat the Earth's surface and accelerate the planet's rotation.
Today, the Moon's tides are about twice as strong as the Sun's atmospheric tides. This means they have a greater influence on how fast the Earth rotates.
However, research reveals that billions of years ago, the Earth rotated faster, indicating that the Moon's gravitational pull was weaker than it is today. So, back then, the tides of the Sun and Moon were more balanced.
"Therefore, if in the past these two opposing forces had become equal to each other, such a tidal resonance would have caused the length of the day on Earth to stop changing and remain constant for some time," says study co-author Uwe Kirscher, a research associate at Curtin University in Australia.
Moreover, this long period of 19-hour day duration coincides with a similar slowdown in the increase of oxygen in the atmosphere during the mid-Proterozoic era.
As such, it may have also contributed to the slowdown in the evolution of life on Earth at that time.
Pelarian Bos Tempat Hiburan Malam Planet Batam Berakhir! Baru Mendarat dari Singapura Langsung Diciduk Bareskrim
Pelarian Yuwanky, pemilik tempat hiburan malam (THM) Planet Batam yang masuk daftar pencarian orang (DPO) terkait dugaan peredaran narkoba, akhirnya berakhir.
