Posted on 12/21/2014 10:48:25 AM PST by LucyT
Today, you might already know, is the winter solstice. That means for people living in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the longest night of the year.
However, as science blogger Colin Schultz points out, tonight will also be the longest night ever. At any location in the Northern Hemisphere, in other words, tonight's period of darkness will be slightly longer than any other, ever — at least, since the planet started spinning right around the time it was first formed some 4.5 billion years ago.
The reason is that the rotation of the Earth is slowing over time. Every year, scientists estimate, the length of a day increases by about 15 to 25 millionths of a second.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Climate change.
Why, is Obama on all the channels?
STOP GLOBAL er, SLOWING!!!
“Winter” has a press agent ... it’s now “Polar Vortex”
Well I am sleeping.
I’m not sure that this is correct. If, at some point in the past when the Earth was warmer and ice at the poles melted, would not the melted ice water flowed into the oceans, increased their depth, and thereby increased the circumference of the Earth at its widest point, the equator? If the Earth became wider at it equator for any reason, would that not affect the Earth’s angular momentum and thus slow its rotation. Later, of course, when the ice once again accumulated at the poles, the planet’s rotation would speed up, like a figure skater drawing in her arms.
Looks like I’ll be ready for bed @5:30PM.
“Science blogger Colin Schultz” is spouting assumptions not supported by any hard evidence.
We’ve no fixed point from which to measure Earth’s rotation speed, and who is to say that meteor impacts haven’t increased our rotation speed?
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>> “Common core no doubt used for this calculation” <<
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LOL!
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In the not-too-distant future (geologically speaking), the moon’s orbit will drift
far enough away for a total solar eclipse to never happen. Today the moon’s apparent diameter is just barely wide enough to fully cover the sun, and then only rarely and with a shadow only a few dozen miles wide for only a few minutes.
>> “I want to know what causes the days to be shortened during the tribulation.” <<
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You took that statement wrong.
It means that the number of days will be cut short by divine action. (Satan would love to play God forever)
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How much shorter will tomorrow night be?
>> “In the not-too-distant future (geologically speaking), the moon’s orbit will drift far enough away for a total solar eclipse to never happen” <<
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OK, please explain why the opposite wouldn’t happen, since it takes some energy input for the Moon’s orbit to increase in size.
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Sounds like a long night ...
Angular momentum is always conserved in a closed system. This is basic physics. The Earth-moon system is no exception.
Due to tidal friction, the Earth is slowly trading away its rotational speed for the moon’s increasing orbital distance. Eventually the Earth will become tidally locked with the moon. A day will be the same length as the moon’s orbit, with the same side of the Earth always facing the moon. A solar day then last be a month or longer, and the moon will always be in the same position in the sky.
The Earth taken as a unit is not in any way a closed system!
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In other words, every December 21st has been the longest night ever, until next year. Not really so exciting when you think about it this way.
Women and minorities hardest hit.
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