Is the earth's rotation slowing down?
Asked by: Mallory Thomson


Yes it is, due to a transfer of Earth's rotational momentum to the Moon's orbital momentum as tidal friction slows the Earth's rotation. That increase in the Moon's speed is causing it to slowly recede from Earth (about 4 cm per year), increasing its orbital period and the length of a month as well.




The Earth's rotation is slowing down from rotational energy transfer to the moon's orbit through tides. The moon is very slowly increasing its orbital radius.

Every 18 months on the average, with variation, a leap second is added to planetary time keeping to keep the day consistent with atomic clocks and astronomical observations.

The next leap second will be at the end of December 2005. The one before that was December 1998.
Answered by: Uncle Al, Irvine, CA

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Albert Einstein

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