The days used to last 17 hours

Fewer hours per day and the Moon 60,000 kilometers closer. The study was done by the Universities of Utrecht, Geneva and Quebec in Montreal. Yes, the days used to last 17 hours. And the Moon rotates on its axis much slower than before.

Geologists have used information stored in rocks and fossils. A discovery that becomes more complicated with the passage of time. The further back they go, the more difficult it becomes to retrieve this information. They looked at sedimentary rocks in Western Australia and found a pattern of iron layers alternating with layers of more clay. It is related to periodic changes in the shape of the Earth’s orbit and the orientation of its spin axis.

Days used to be 17 hours long, and the Moon was closer.
Days used to be 17 hours long, and the Moon was closer.

Every day farther and farther away

“These variations influenced the distribution of solar radiation received by the Earth. Therefore, also on the climate. And this characteristic cycle pattern also changed gradually over time,” explains scientist, Margriet Lantink, of Utrecht University. “It is a direct consequence of the ‘tidal evolution’ of the Earth-Moon system. It is also related to the distance between the Earth and the Moon in the past.”

Millions of years ago, days were seven hours shorter than they are now. Scientists estimate that days used to last only 17 hours. With the passage of time, the Earth’s rotational motion slowed down to the present 24 hours. The Earth’s climate had undergone regular changes 2.5 billion years ago “due to periodic changes in the shape of the Earth’s orbit,” they note.

Would it have been easier to travel to the Moon 2 billion years ago if they had had the necessary means? The answer is an unknown. What is known after this study is that the distance between the Earth and the Moon was 321,800 kilometers. That is 60,000 kilometers less than the current distance.

The moon was 60,000 kilometers closer to Earth.
The moon was 60 thousand kilometers closer to Earth.

Ellipse

“Today, this distance is around 384,300 kilometers. On average, of course, because the Moon does not make a perfect circle around the Earth. Its orbit is an ellipse. During the time interval we studied, the Earth-Moon distance was much shorter. It was about 321,800 kilometers,” Lantink said. This distance turns out to be consistent with an improved model for the history of the Earth-Moon system published recently by French astronomers.

Click to rate this entry!
(Votes: 1 Average: 5)
Share!

Leave a Comment